ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to piece together a coherent picture of developments in the economic well-being of children in families headed by an unmarried female by presenting data from several household surveys that tell us about their income and expenditures. Income is not the only, or necessarily the best, measure of economic well-being. The Consumer expenditure Survey is an ongoing survey of around 5,000 sample households that gathers detailed quarterly information about household spending, as well as demographic, employment, and income information. The track of average income and expenditures for quintiles of the distribution of female family heads with children looks something like the fingers of a hand. The poverty thresholds are the official statistical measures, and the income counted is the official income measure, that is, regular pretax money income, including cash government transfers. If the National Research Council proposal or other major changes were adopted, the trends in child poverty might look different.
