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The History of the Official Poverty Measure
The History of the Official Poverty Measure
The current official poverty measure was developed in the mid 1960s by Mollie Orshansky, a staff economist at the Social Security Administration. Poverty thresholds were derived from the cost of a minimum food diet multiplied by three to account for other family expenses.
For additional information on the history of the poverty measure, refer to the pages below.
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Poverty: The History of a MeasurePresident Johnson’s 1964 declaration of his “War on Poverty” generated a new interest in measuring just how many people were in poverty and how that changed.
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The Development of the Orshansky Poverty ThresholdsThis paper first describes how Orshansky developed the poverty thresholds.
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Characteristics of the Population Below the Poverty Level: 1980This report provides detailed social and economic statistics for the population below the poverty level based on the March 1981 Current Population Survey (CPS).
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Family Food Plans and Food Costs (1962) [PDF]Includes the Economy Food Plan, used by Orshansky to develop poverty thresholds.
Research on Poverty Measures
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The Measure of Poverty (1976)This report from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare discusses methods for improving the accuracy and currency of the poverty measure.
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Measuring Poverty: A New Approach (1995)This report resulted from a National Academy of Sciences panel on the concepts, measurement methods, and information needed for an adequate poverty measure.
Authority Behind the Official Poverty Measure
The official measure of poverty was established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Statistical Policy Directive 14 and is designed to be used by federal agencies in their statistical work.
Official poverty data come from the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), formerly called the Annual Demographic Supplement or simply the "March Supplement."
Government aid programs do not have to use the official poverty measure as eligibility criteria. Each aid program may define eligibility differently. Many government aid programs use a different poverty measure, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines, or variants thereof.
The Development of the Supplemental Poverty Measure
Page Last Revised - May 24, 2022
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