Goedhart, Theo, Victor Halberstadt, Arie Kapteyn, and Bernard van Praag. 1977. "The Poverty Line: Concept and Measurement." Journal of Human Resources 12(4):503-520.

In this paper, a new approach to defining the poverty line is proposed in which family heads are asked what they consider a minimal income level for their own family. It was found that the respondents appeared to specify higher amounts, the greater their actual income and family size, and that the relationship was loglinear. For each family size there is an income level at which a respondent's stated minimum income is equal to his actual income. This level is taken as a definition of the poverty line. The poverty line thus defined varies with family size.

Goedhart is with the Central Bureau of Statistics, The Hague, The Netherlands. Halberstadt, Kapteyn, and van Praag are on the faculty of the Economic Institute, Leyden University, The Netherlands. The research reported in this paper has been supported by grants form the Dutch Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Recreation, and Social Welfare and from the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs. The authors are grateful to Robert H. Haveman, Malcolm Levitt, J. L. Nicholson, and anonymous referees for their very valuable comments on an earlier draft. The responsibility for the current text remains with the authors. The authors also thank Miss Bernelot Moens and Messrs. Verwey, Berkman, van Maarseveen, Harmsen, and De Vet for their stimulating help in the preparatory stage of the survey which this report is based.

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