- Born:
- January 9, 1915, New York City, New York, U.S.
- Died:
- December 18, 2006, New York City (aged 91)
- Subjects Of Study:
- poverty
Mollie Orshansky
-
Who was Mollie Orshansky?
Mollie Orshansky (1915–2006) was an American statistician who developed the U.S. federal poverty thresholds in the 1960s. These thresholds determined eligibility for many federal and state aid programs and shaped broader social policies.
As one of seven daughters of Ukrainian immigrants, she was the first in her family to graduate from high school and college, where she majored in mathematics and statistics at Hunter College in New York.
In 1958, Orshansky joined the Social Security Administration (SSA). Her work on poverty measures began in 1960, and she published her findings in July 1963. In January 1965, she published her best-known article, “Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile.” Orshansky's poverty thresholds were adopted by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in May 1965 and officially throughout the federal government.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is Mollie Orshansky known for?
Mollie Orshansky (1915–2006) was an American statistician known for developing the U.S. federal poverty thresholds in the 1960s. These thresholds determined eligibility for many federal and state aid programs and shaped broader social policies.
In 1963, as part of a Social Security Administration (SSA) research project, Orshansky developed poverty thresholds to measure the risks of income inadequacy among different groups of families. She expanded her thresholds to all family sizes and ages, publishing her findings in her best-known article, “Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile” (1965).
In May 1965, the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity adopted Orshansky’s thresholds as its working poverty measure, and they were subsequently adopted officially throughout the federal government.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the poverty line, and how did Orshansky help define it?
The poverty line is the income level needed to afford basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter.
Mollie Orshansky, an American statistician, significantly contributed to defining the U.S. poverty thresholds in the 1960s. These thresholds determined eligibility for federal and state aid programs and shaped social policies.
In response to the Council of Economic Advisers' (CEA) simple poverty standard, Orshansky expanded her thresholds to account for family size and composition. Her detailed measures, published in "Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile" (1965), were adopted by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in May 1965 and later throughout the federal government.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why did Mollie Orshansky develop her poverty measurement method?
Mollie Orshansky, an American statistician, created U.S. federal poverty thresholds in the 1960s that determined eligibility for federal and state aid programs and shaped social policies anchor text.
In 1964, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) adopted a poverty standard based on annual income. Orshansky, upset with the CEA's measure, expanded her thresholds to account for all family sizes and ages. Her poverty thresholds were more detailed than the CEA’s measures, considering family size and composition. In May 1965, the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity adopted Orshansky’s thresholds as its working poverty measure, and they were subsequently adopted throughout the federal government anchor text.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has Mollie Orshansky's work impacted government policies in the United States?
Mollie Orshansky, an American statistician, significantly shaped U.S. government policies through her development of federal poverty thresholds in the 1960s. These thresholds, which determined eligibility for federal and state aid programs, took into account family size and composition, including the number of children or elderly.
Orshansky's work gained prominence when the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity adopted her thresholds as its working poverty measure in May 1965, leading to their official adoption throughout the federal government. Her analysis became the standard for analyzing poverty and antipoverty policies and programs in the United States and influenced poverty research internationally.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Mollie Orshansky (born January 9, 1915, New York City, New York, U.S.—died December 18, 2006, New York City) was an American statistician who in the 1960s developed U.S. federal poverty thresholds that determined eligibility for many federal and state aid programs and that helped shape broader social policies.
Orshansky was one of seven daughters of Ukrainian immigrants and the first in her family to graduate from both high school and college, majoring in mathematics and statistics at Hunter College in New York. With career opportunities in universities largely closed to women, she pursued a career in government, first at the New York Department of Health and then, in 1936, at the Children’s Bureau in Washington, D.C. Over the next two decades she worked as an analyst and statistician in a variety of government agencies, accumulating the experience that would later inform her work on poverty measures.
Orshansky joined the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 1958 and first worked on the issue of poverty measures in 1960 while performing staff work for Arthur Flemming, the secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Her work on poverty continued in 1963 with an SSA research project on the effects of poverty on children, for which she developed poverty thresholds to measure the risks of income inadequacy among different groups of families. She first published her findings in July 1963.
In January 1964 U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson declared what would come to be called the War on Poverty. Meanwhile, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) adopted a simple poverty standard, classifying individuals with less than $1,500 in annual income as poor; families with less than $3,000 in annual income would also be designated poor. Upset that the CEA measure would categorize a large family with children whose income was just over $3,000 as not poor but a couple with no children and an income of just under $3,000 as poor, Orshansky set to work to expand her thresholds to all family sizes and ages, publishing both her thresholds and the analysis based on them in her best-known article, “Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile” (January 1965). Orshansky’s poverty thresholds were much more detailed than the CEA’s measures, taking into account family size and composition (number of children or elderly). Although the lower of her two sets of thresholds (the one eventually adopted) produced an aggregate number of poor similar to that of the CEA analysis, Orshansky’s thresholds categorized an additional four million children as poor.
The U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity adopted Orshansky’s thresholds as its working poverty measure in May 1965, and they were subsequently adopted officially throughout the federal government. Orshansky herself became more widely known as an expert, testifying before Congress and commissions on numerous occasions—a level of visibility unusual enough at the time for a woman that it was remarked on by one congressman hearing her testimony.
Orshansky’s analysis set the model for decades to come for the manner in which poverty and antipoverty policy and programs would be analyzed in the United States and elsewhere. Orshansky was cited and recognized in poverty research and measurement in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, as well as by many international organizations.