Downloads
![Image representing the file: crossley_bc2011.pdf](/sites/default/files/output_url_files/crossley_bc2011.pdf_0.jpg)
crossley_bc2011.pdf
PDF | 145.91 KB
There is a long tradition of using consumption measures derived from Statistics Canada's household expenditures surveys to study material well-being, inequality, and poverty. We offer an introduction to this research. Income and consumption measures give different pictures of the patterns of material well-being in Canada, but the differences are not as large as in the US.We also provide a comparison to Meyer and Sullivan's results on data quality. Canadian expenditure surveys are of high quality. Unique aspects of these surveys (variation in quality control measures over time and the possibility of comparing to income tax data) provide important insights into the quality of survey data on income and consumption.
Authors
![Thomas Crossley](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-07/Tom%20Crossley.jpg?itok=8BNVWAtq)
Research Fellow University of Michigan
Tom is a Research Fellow at IFS, a Research Professor for the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Matthew Brzozowski
Suggested citation
Brzozowski, M and Crossley, T. (2011). 'Viewpoint: Measuring the well-being of the poor with income or consumption: a Canadian perspective' (2011)
More from IFS
Understand this issue
![Child drawing](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-04/child-drawing_0.jpg?itok=Qq8x74st)
Sure Start achieved its aims, then we threw it away
15 April 2024
![Nice houses with city in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2023-12/nice-houses-with-city-in-background_0.jpg?itok=TDx-TwSe)
Social mobility and wealth
12 December 2023
![Row of terraced houses](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2023-07/Row-of-terraced-houses.jpg?itok=V4XeVn72)
How important is the Bank of Mum and Dad?
15 December 2023
Policy analysis
![Shopping street](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Street-scene-.jpg?itok=R39cR6Xp)
How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
19 June 2024
![Terrace housing](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/terrace%20housing%20feature.jpg?itok=eloSiGLE)
Making mortgage guarantees permanent will help some first-time buyers, but only if they can afford a bigger mortgage
6 June 2024
![Crowd of commuters](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-05/commuting%20crowd%20feature.jpg?itok=KNgqVlqm)
What has happened to earnings since 2019?
31 May 2024
Academic research
![Fiscal Studies - 2024 - June cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-06/Fiscal%20Studies%20-%202024%20-%20-%20June%20cover.jpg?itok=mQEwRc_w)
Income inequality in Ireland, 1987–2019
28 June 2024
![Fiscal Studies - 2024 - June cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-06/Fiscal%20Studies%20-%202024%20-%20-%20June%20cover.jpg?itok=mQEwRc_w)
Components of the evolution of income inequality in Sweden, 1990–2021
28 June 2024
![Working Paper Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-04/WP202413-Labour-market-inequality-and-the-changing-life-cycle-profile-of-male-and-female-wages_Page_001.jpg?itok=FGFp0iFj)
Labour market inequality and the changing life cycle profile of male and female wages
15 April 2024