Safety Net Enables Faster, More Permanent Exit from Deep Poverty

This policy brief from the University of California at Davis, Center for Poverty Research examines the long-term persistence of “deep” poverty, or living on an income less than half of the official poverty line. Research indicates that two-thirds of persons who fall into deep poverty exit that status in two years or less, though recurrence is fairly common as re-entry lasts between 2.2 years and 4.7 years. The findings of the brief note that in-kind and tax benefits can reduce the recurrence of deep poverty to 1.7 years to 3.5 years.