Topic: Income/Poverty

Nearly 1 in 3 Working Families in U.S. Struggle to Meet Basic Needs
The slow recovery from the recession has fallen hard on America's working poor families, increasing their numbers by 125,000 in 2010 to more than 10 million families, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The new data show a wide income gap between low-income working families and the nation's wealthiest working families. Between 2007 and 2010, the share of working families who are low-income increased from 28 percent to 31 percent, according to Overlooked and Underpaid: Low-Income Working Families Increases to 10.2 Million, published by the Working Poor Families Project. (January 2012)

A Post-Recession Update on U.S. Social and Economic Trends (cont'd.)
The Great Recession in the United States began in December 2007 and officially ended in June of 2009, resulting in a broad-based decline in America's economic well-being and security. This Population Bulletin Update is a follow-up to the 2010 Population Bulletin, "U.S. Economic and Social Trends Since 2000," by Linda A. Jacobsen and Mark Mather, and provides new data and analysis on the ongoing impact of the recession in the United States. (December 2011)

A Post-Recession Update on U.S. Social and Economic Trends
The Great Recession in the United States began in December 2007 and officially ended in June of 2009, resulting in a broad-based decline in America's economic well-being and security. This Population Bulletin Update is a follow-up to the 2010 Population Bulletin, "U.S. Economic and Social Trends Since 2000," by Linda A. Jacobsen and Mark Mather, and provides new data and analysis on the ongoing impact of the recession in the United States. (December 2011)

2011 Human Development Report Links Environmental Degradation and Inequality
The United Nations Development Programme's 2011 Human Development Report examines the relationship between environmental degradation and inequality. Environmental challenges increase inequality, while inequalities in human development such as income, health, and education can further strain the environment. The report measures poverty with the Human Development Index (HDI), a multidimensional measure that takes in account access to health care, education, and income levels worldwide. Each country has a HDI "score," categorized into groupings of Very High, High, Medium, and Low. (December 2011)

Generations on the Rise in Pakistan: A PRB ENGAGE Multimedia Presentation
Generations on the Rise is a PRB ENGAGE multimedia presentation set in Pakistan that examines the important link between high fertility and the health of women and children. The presentation was developed in collaboration with the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH) and a local task force in Sindh comprising experts in family planning and reproductive health. They offer exciting new ways of exploring associations among population, health, and socioeconomic indicators across time and in a visually stimulating way that provide new perspectives for traditional messages. (June 2011)

Kenya Leading the Way: A PRB ENGAGE Multimedia Presentation
Kenya Leading the Way is a PRB ENGAGE multimedia presentation that examines the important link between family planning and development in Kenya. It was developed by PRB and Kenya's National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD) in collaboration with a task force of local experts in population and family planning. (June 2011)

New Book on Ethiopian Demography Explores Complex Interplay of Social and Environmental Forces
A new book by demographers Charles Teller and Assefa Hailemariam sets out to "unravel" Ethiopia's complex population dynamics. The Demographic Transition and Development in Africa: The Unique Case of Ethiopia examines: slowly declining population growth rates with rapidly declining child mortality; very high chronic undernutrition (stunting); already low urban fertility but still very high rural fertility; and high population-resource pressure along with rapidly growing small urban places. (June 2011)

Family Planning: Pathway to Poverty Reduction, a PRB ENGAGE Multimedia Presentation
PRB is developing a series of ENGAGE presentations that examine the relationship between family planning and the Millennium Development Goals. The first presentation, "Family Planning: Pathway to Poverty Reduction," seeks to improve understanding of how family planning contributes economic growth and poverty reduction at the family, community, and national levels and to reposition family planning higher on national and local policy agendas in sub-Saharan Africa. The presentation comes in two formats—with and without a voiceover. A presentation guide is also available to provide facilitators with skills to effectively use and discuss data in the presentation. (June 2011)

Higher Education and Employment in the Current U.S. Economy: Interview With Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University
As the United States slowly emerges from the recession of 2007-2009, it is encountering a sobering predicament: not enough Americans are completing college. In this video interview, Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, discusses structural changes to the U.S. economy, the affordability of college for middle class families, and the demographics of higher education disparities. He also explains why educational choices—where to go and what to study—affects employment opportunities. (April 2011)

Rising Global Food Prices Threaten to Increase Poverty
Global food prices have been on the rise, threatening to reach record levels in the coming months if current trends continue. Growing world demand due to an increasing world population and shifting consumption patterns, and lower supplies partly due to bad weather raised the World Bank's food price index by 15 percent between October 2010 and January 2011. While not all countries are affected equally, the recent volatility is particularly alarming in regions where people spend more than half of their income on food. (April 2011)