Over 14 percent children and 9 percent of adults in the United States lived in poverty as measured by the official poverty rate in 2019. Our posts cover a range of topics related to poverty in the U.S. and around the world, including research on the causes and broader consequences of poverty; racial and ethnic disparities in income and wealth; the long-term impacts of growing up in poverty for children and society at large; the role of safety net programs such as Medicaid, social security, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and global poverty reduction.
May 28, 2023
A discussion with Arline Geronimus on the consequences of chronic stress among black, and poor Americans, especially as it relates to maternal and infant health.
November 28, 2022
New findings based on two decades of research are reshaping how we understand the importance of neighborhood environments for adults and children.
March 1, 2022
Poverty is associated with increased risk of family and youth violence. Do anti-poverty programs have the potential to mitigate these types of violence?
November 15, 2021
In spite of the safety net, families residing in poverty devote a substantial share of their monthly expenditures to basic shelter, health, and nutrition.
August 22, 2021
Melissa Kearney (University of Maryland) joins Michael Klein to discuss the scope and causes of child poverty in the U.S,. and the policy efforts to alleviate it.
June 16, 2021
A look at some of the causes and consequences of child poverty, the ways in which child poverty rates vary across racial and ethnic groups, and what policy-makers can do to alleviate the scourge of child poverty.
May 31, 2021
With over 1 in 7 children living in poverty in 2019, the United States is an outlier among rich nations. It doesn’t have to be this way, according to University of California, Berkeley professor Hilary Hoynes.
February 15, 2021
Lant Pritchett joins Michael Klein to discuss the causes of global poverty reduction.
February 5, 2021
More than 10 million U.S. children were officially poor before the pandemic. Spending in the range of 0.4-1.4% of GDP could dramatically reduce child poverty.