The economics of poverty and discrimination / Bradley R. Schiller.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

pt. I. The dimensions of poverty and inequality -- 1. Views of inequality and poverty -- The continuing controversy -- What to do? -- Too little government assistance? -- Or too much aid? -- Equity and efficiency -- Causes and cures -- Flawed character -- Restricted opportunity -- Big brother -- Self-interest -- Policy implications -- Historical perspectives -- Inequality -- Differing explanations -- Equity versus efficiency -- Dimensions of well-being -- Income versus wealth -- Transitory versus permanent income -- Life-cycle dynamics -- Public provisions -- Social equality -- Discrimination -- Poverty : drawing a line -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 2. Inequality -- Why inequality matters -- Costs of inequality -- Benefits of inequality -- Equity versus efficiency -- Inequality of what? -- Income concepts -- Unit of observation -- Trend distortions -- Alternative yardsticks -- Between-group averages -- Income shares -- The Lorenz curve -- Gini coefficient -- Normative versus objective observations -- Income mobility -- Stratification versus equality -- Sources of mobility -- Mobility patterns -- The mobility matrix -- Earnings mobility -- Income mobility -- Social inequality -- Summary -- Further readings -- Web links -- 3. Counting the poor -- Poverty : drawing a line -- The absolute approach -- The relative approach -- The Fuchs point -- Whose standard? -- The official poverty line -- The concept of minimum needs -- Monetary measures -- Hardship indices -- Poverty thresholds -- The CEA line -- The SSA index -- The official poverty index -- The number of poor people -- The official poverty count -- The poverty rate -- How poor? -- Measurement problems -- Too low a standard? -- Too high a standard? -- In-kind income -- Underreporting -- Income mobility -- The uncounted poor -- Latent poverty -- Asset poverty -- The call for revision -- Characteristics of the poor -- Age and family status -- Geography and residence -- Labor force status -- Similarities and differences -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 4. Global poverty and inequality -- Global poverty thresholds -- National poverty lines -- World Bank thresholds -- Inflation -- Global poverty counts -- Social indicators -- Inequality -- Gini coefficients -- Income shares -- Unequal wealth -- Land ownership -- Stock market wealth -- Status mobility -- Inequity versus inequality -- Inequity and development -- Policy strategies -- The millennium goal -- Redistribution -- Foreign aid -- Economic growth -- Institutional reform -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links --

pt. II. Causes of poverty -- 5. Labor force participation -- Income sources -- Two-parent families -- Importance of sources -- Female-headed families -- Labor force status -- Participation and poverty -- The nonparticipants -- Unemployment -- The process of economic deterioration -- Subemployment -- Discouraged workers -- Other marginally attached workers -- Underemployment -- Subemployment -- Poverty implications -- The question of causation -- Do the poor really try? -- Macroeconomic forces -- Poverty impact of cyclical unemployment -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 6. The working poor -- Work experience and poverty -- Weeks of work and hours -- The working poor -- How much work? -- More measurement problems -- The significance of secondary workers -- Searching for explanations -- Minimum-wage jobs -- Coverage -- Low wages -- Poor jobs -- Why wages are so low -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- Appendix 1. Does prosperity trickle down? -- The trickle-down perspective -- The dual labor market perspective -- 7. Age and health -- Age -- Declining poverty rate -- Diversity among the aged -- Sources of economic support -- New poverty or continuing poverty? -- Rising health costs -- Tax burdens -- Making do -- Assessing causation -- Health -- Health costs -- Causality -- Health insurance -- Intergenerational links -- Mental health -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 8. Family size and structure -- Family size -- Poverty rates -- The potential impact -- Declining family size -- The causal relation -- Family structure -- Changing family patterns -- Economic implications -- Poverty impact -- Causation -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 9. The underclass : culture and race -- The culture of poverty -- Norms versus traits -- A question of opportunities -- Wilson's underclass theory -- Testing the theory -- Direct tests of aspirations -- Indirect tests of predicted behavior -- Assessment -- The racial inferiority theory -- Intelligence and status -- IQ scores -- Resolving the issues -- Other complications -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 10. Education and ability -- Education and income -- Poverty rates -- Labor-market effects -- Increasing skill premiums -- Paths of causation -- Overlapping causes -- Education as a sorting device -- The content of education -- Ability and income -- Which ability matters? -- IQ and schooling -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 11. Discrimination in education -- Discrimination -- Attitudes versus action -- The relevancy standard -- Costs and benefits of discrimination -- Proving discrimination -- Racial discrimination in education -- Disparate outcomes -- School segregation -- Equality of facilities -- Inherent inequalities -- Class discrimination in education -- Economic segregation -- School finances -- Educational attainments -- The question of ability -- Sex discrimination in education -- Gender segregation -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 12. Discrimination in the labor market -- Racial discrimination in the labor market -- Locus of discrimination -- Disparities in earnings -- Educational differences -- Components of earnings disparities -- Who discriminates? -- Labor unions -- Employers -- Class discrimination in the labor market -- Sex discrimination in the labor market -- Occupational segregation -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links --

pt. III. Policy options -- 13. Welfare programs -- Welfare versus social insurance -- Types of income transfers -- Welfare : the cash assistance programs -- Inadequacies -- Inequities -- Family disincentives -- Saving disincentives -- Work disincentives -- Conflicting welfare goals -- The goal compromise -- Welfare reforms, 1982-2002 -- State experiments, 1982-1988 -- The Family Support Act of 1988 -- State waivers, 1991-1995 -- PRWORA : the 1996 welfare reforms -- Observed effects -- Welfare : the in-kind programs -- Food stamps -- Medicaid -- Housing assistance -- Nutrition programs -- The welfare package -- Revisiting the goal conflict -- Continuing welfare reforms -- Transitional assistance -- Contingency funds -- Work requirements -- Family formation -- 2005 reauthorization -- The limits of welfare -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 14. Social insurance programs -- Social Security -- OASDHI programs -- Financing -- Benefits -- Poverty impact -- Reform options -- Medicare -- Hospital insurance -- Supplemental medical insurance 267 Poverty impact -- Unemployment insurance -- Eligibility conditions -- Benefits -- Poverty impact -- Child-support enforcement -- Child-support gaps -- Enforcement policies -- Poverty impact -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 15. Employment policies -- Aggregate demand policies -- Demand management -- Full employment versus price stability -- The Phillips curve -- The quality of jobs -- Training programs -- Structural unemployment -- Program experience -- Generic problems -- "Living wage" laws -- Employment tax credits -- Employer credits -- Employee credits : the EITC -- Family policy -- A coordinated approach -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 16. Equal opportunity policies -- Equal employment opportunity policies -- The EEOC -- The OFCCP -- Quotas and guidelines -- Reverse discrimination -- Comparable worth -- Class-based preferences -- Equal education opportunity policies -- Limits on federal policy -- De jure versus de facto segregation -- Housing patterns -- Busing -- Fiscal disparities -- Compensatory education -- College admissions -- School-based quotas -- Summary -- Further reading -- Web links -- 17. Direction and prospects -- The causes of poverty -- Policy directions -- Welfare reform -- Social insurance -- Education and training -- Macroeconomic policy -- Equal opportunity -- Causes, attitudes, and policy.