{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.01607142857142857, 'fraction_numerical': 0.010714285714285714, 'mean_word_length': 5.0978260869565215, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Poverty and Policy: Lessons of the Last Two Decades

Several major issues in the debate about social welfare policy and poverty receive attention. Using alternative measures of poverty, we present data on trends in poverty during the 1964-84 period and analyze how changes in economic conditions, income transfer policies, and demographic shifts contributed to those trends. We review the negative work and family effects of income transfers and suggest that their size is modest. The paper concludes by drawing some lessons to guide future antipoverty policy.