Measuring Poverty Is Topic of Jan. 25 Lecture at Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) launches its Reed Smith Spring 2012 Speaker Series Jan. 25 with a noon lecture by Kathleen Short, research economist with the U.S. Census Bureau.

Short’s talk, titled “The Supplemental Poverty Measure: Taking Account of Taxes and Transfers,” will take place in the School of Social Work Conference Center on the 20th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland. It is free and open to the public, and registration is not required; lunch will be provided. For more information, call 412-624-7382.

Short’s work with the Census Bureau made news last fall when the bureau released its first supplemental poverty measure, which took into account the impact of many forms of noncash public assistance, such as food stamps, housing subsidies, and energy assistance. Under the new measure, the poverty threshold for a family with two adults and two children in 2010 was $24,343, more than $2,000 higher than the official threshold of $22,113.

After earning a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, Short joined the Census Bureau in 1984. She has worked primarily in the area of measuring economic well-being and developing an international database on children’s well-being. She has worked extensively with the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and has authored or coauthored several journal articles on measuring material hardship, poverty and housing, poverty and medical expenses, and poverty measures that take account of assets and debt.

CRSP’s annual Reed Smith Spring Speaker Series provides an opportunity for faculty, students, and members of the community to engage in race-related discussions of mutual interest. 

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