Two decades of poverty reduction politics benefited single parent families

Abstract

Poverty reduction is a complex task. This study investigates whether the position of single parent families and single working age adults improved in a political context that has, at least rhetorically, prioritized poverty reduction across all higher-level jurisdictions in Canada. Both groups experience very high poverty rates. The study analyzes poverty changes from 1999 to 2017 in a relative sense (compared to the typical Canadian) and an absolute sense (purchasing power). Controlling for demographic and regional characteristics, it finds that the poverty disadvantage declined for both groups.