TY - JOUR AU - Meyer,Bruce D. AU - Sullivan,James X. TI - Measuring the Well-Being of the Poor Using Income and Consumption JF - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series VL - No. 9760 PY - 2003 Y2 - June 2003 DO - 10.3386/w9760 UR - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9760 L1 - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9760.pdf N1 - Author contact info: Bruce D. Meyer Harris School of Public Policy University of Chicago 1155 E. 60th Street Chicago, IL 60637 Tel: 773/702-2712 Fax: 773/702-0926 E-Mail: bdmeyer@uchicago.edu James X. Sullivan Department of Economics 3108 Jenkins Nanovic Halls University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556 Tel: 574/631-7587 E-Mail: James.X.Sullivan.197@nd.edu AB - We evaluate consumption and income measures of the material well-being of the poor. We begin with conceptual and pragmatic reasons that favor income or consumption. Then, we empirically examine the quality of standard data by studying measurement error and under-reporting, and by comparing micro-data from standard surveys to administrative micro-data and aggregates. We also compare low reports of income and consumption to other measures of hardship and well-being. The closer link between consumption and well-being and its better measurement favors the use of consumption when setting benefits and evaluating transfer programs. However, income retains its convenience for determining program eligibility. ER -