Long-Term Trends in Rural and Urban Poverty: New Insights Using a Historical Supplemental Poverty Measure. Issue 1 (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nolan, Laura B.; Waldfogel, Jane; Wimer, Christopher
• Other Names: Lichter Daniel T. guest-editor.; Ziliak James P. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Volume 672:Issue 1(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 123
• Page End: 142
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: rural-urban poverty -- inequality -- demographic change -- economic well-being; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- United States -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716217713174
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7162

Abstract

Poverty has a strong relationship to geography in the United States. Previous research has found that rural areas have higher average poverty rates than urban areas, but the new supplemental poverty measure (SPM) has shown in recent years that urban areas have higher average poverty. In this article, we analyze poverty trends from 1967 to 2014 in rural and urban America, using the improved SPM metrics. We find a dramatic decline in poverty in rural areas, and also show that the geographic adjustment of the poverty threshold in the SPM (which lowers poverty thresholds in less expensive areas and raises them in more expensive areas) is an important explanatory factor. We also find that changes in the demographic and economic characteristics of rural and urban residents help to explain the decline. Last, we investigate whether migration of the poor between rural and urban areas helps to account for differential poverty trends, but we find little evidence in support of that hypothesis.