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Persistent and transitory poverty across locations in the United States

Ulimwengu, John M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154789728

Abstract Details

2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.
Using a geocoded version of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), my findings suggest that the persistently poor receive less than 65% of their total income as wages, accumulate fewer assets, and rely heavily on government social transfers. Although their incomes fall below the poverty line occasionally, the transitorily poor stay above the poverty line most of the time. I confirm the presence of poverty clusters as well as the presence of spatial interaction across locations. This calls for cooperation among counties or states in the fight against poverty. I use a generalized mixed linear model that incorporates both fixed and random effects while controlling for individual characteristics and spatial attributes. I find that the persistently poor and the transitorily poor experience very different poverty paths. Years of education, labor market participation, and access to the benefit of economic growth are among the major factors explaining the difference in wellbeing between the two groups of poor households. Spatial attributes such as level of employment and population share of college graduates yield different returns in terms of wellbeing with respect to metro or nonmetro locations. In metro areas, the effect of job-training, economic growth and human capital on household living standards decreases with respect to the population size. In nonmetro areas, the effect of an increase in the share of college graduates increases with the rurality of the location. The more rural the location, the greater is the effect of human capital on living standards. Overall, my findings support arguments in favor of policies that differentiate persistent poverty from transitory poverty. They also highlight the importance of spatial attributes in the fight against poverty.
David Kraybill (Advisor)
149 p.
Economics, Agricultural
Poverty; Persistent; Transitory; Mixed-effects linear model; Dynamics

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ulimwengu, J. M. (2006). Persistent and transitory poverty across locations in the United States [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154789728

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ulimwengu, John. Persistent and transitory poverty across locations in the United States. 2006. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154789728.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ulimwengu, John. "Persistent and transitory poverty across locations in the United States." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154789728

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1154789728
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© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.