Poverty and the Macroeconomy: Estimates from U.S. Regional Data

Previous research using national-level time-series data has shown a breakdown in the poverty/growth nexus during the 1980s and a rehabilitation during the 1990s. This article uses census division-level data with controls for demographic and structural variables to demonstrate that poverty rates were more responsive to macroeconomic conditions during the 1980s than prior results have shown and that conclusions regarding the rehabilitation of the relationship during the 1990s are sensitive to the time period chosen. (JEL "E32", "I32") Copyright 2003 Western Economic Association International.