What Is Poverty? - Defining And Measuring Poverty Internationally, Poverty Lines And The Dollar-a-day Standard, Poverty Thresholds And Guidelines In The United States

Most people have an idea of what it means to be poor. We think of conditions like hunger, homelessness, preventable diseases, unemployment, and illiteracy as elements of poverty. Those and other issues will be covered later in this book. However, from a social and economic standpoint, poverty is a complex topic that can be difficult to describe in objective terms. Most governments and social service agencies have their own definitions of poverty, including how it is measured and who is considered poor. This chapter will explain the means used by the United States and the international community to define and measure poverty.