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Cross-National Comparisons of Poverty and Working-Class Earnings: How the United States Measures Up

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In a previous Journal of Working-Class Studies article, we found that the earnings of both the American poor and working class fared well compared with the whole world. When compared with only OECD countries, the U.S. absolute poverty rate was in the middle of the pack. This paper updates our 2022 analysis with more recent data, more countries, and a different absolute poverty measure. The new analysis presented here shows that the earnings of the American poor and working-class still fare well when compared with the rest of the world. Compared with a subset of the 30 wealthiest OECD countries, the American working class was still near the top of the rankings while the U.S. absolute poverty rate was in the middle of the pack. Thus, these new calculations update and largely confirm our earlier findings.

Source: Journal of Working-Class Studies

DOI: 10.13001/jwcs.v10i1.9821

Authors: Lawrence M. Eppard, David A. Boatwright, Thomas C. Hatvany

Institution: Shippensburg University

Language: English

Topic: Income, Poverty, and Inequality

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4413276136

FWCI:

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Related to: 10