Patterns of Poverty from the Survey of Income and Program Participation
The Census Bureau publishes recurring reports on patterns of
poverty. Because these reports are based on data collected in the
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), they are not
directly comparable to official poverty statistics drawn from the
Current Population Survey (CPS).
Because of the way SIPP is designed it can provide
information on issues such as the duration of poverty spells,
the frequency of transitions into and out of poverty and how
poverty dynamics very across demographic groups.
Frequency and Timespan: Irregular reports with multi-year
averages, annual and some monthly data for 1984-1984 to the
present
Source:
Edwards, Ashley N., Dynamics of Economic Well-being:
Poverty, 2009-2011 (PDF)
Current Population Reports, P70-137, U.S. Census Bureau,
Washington, DC, 2014. Accessed 7/9/2014
The official poverty statistics do not track individuals or
households over time so there are no official data on poverty
spells.
Despite the lack of official data, other surveys do provide the
ability to track poverty status over time. Two recent studies
have used differing data sources and methods to provide some
insight into the characteristics of poverty spells.
