Estimation of EU-Comparable Poverty-Related Variables in the United States, 1995-2014

Abstract

This report seeks to compare poverty rates and poverty gaps for the overall population, the elderly population and single-parent headed households in the United States and selected European Union (EU) countries. In order to make sure that our estimates for the United States, which are based on the United States’ Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement, are directly comparable with EU estimates from Eurostat, we undertook a detailed study of the methodology underpinning Eurostat’s poverty estimates, which are derived from the Survey of Income and Labour Conditions (EU-SILC). The outcomes of this paper are estimates six poverty-related variables including overall and elderly poverty gaps and poverty rates, as well as single parent headed household poverty gaps and the Gini coefficient. The results suggest that overall poverty, elderly poverty and single-parent headed household poverty is higher in the United States than in the average European country.

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