Capability and Income Poverty in the United States: A Comparative Analysis of the Measurement Outcomes and Poverty Profiles Between 1994 and 2004

Shifting focus from income to capability deprivation signifies an important milestone toward accurately measuring poverty. I operationalize capability deprivation in the United States and compare poverty measurement outcomes among various capability approaches and between capability and income spaces. Of the three capability approaches examined, the factor score absolute approach suggests a greater extent of poverty and more comprehensive demographic profiles of the poor. Additionally, I find that using the capability space may further attenuate the extent of poverty over those using the income space and alter somewhat the stereotypical profiles of the poor.