911吃瓜

The first step in addressing any problem is to understand its magnitude. In October, as Congress gridlocked over extending financial assistance to Americans, a study co-authored by TC economist Jordan Matsudaira found that 8 million people in the United States had fallen into poverty since May, driven by the expiration of the emergency CARES Act鈥檚 unemployment supplement of $600 per week. The report also revealed that 鈥渋ncreases in monthly poverty rates have been particularly acute for Black and Hispanic individuals, as well as for children.鈥�

Jordan Matsudaira

Previous reports had been unable to provide real-time estimates of the number of people living in poverty because the government only releases official statistics once a year. The new study used methodology developed by Matsudaira to make high-frequency estimates of the poverty rate based on families鈥� monthly resources. 鈥淚n a time of upheaval like we鈥檙e in right now, having a poverty-rate estimate from a full year ago, when the nation was at the peak of a historic economic expansion, is not providing policymakers with the information they need to respond to an evolving crisis,鈥� said Matsudaira, Associate Professor of Economics & Education Policy and former Chief Economist on President Obama鈥檚 Council of Economic Advisers. The study helped spur the new financial assistance legislation passed by Congress early in 2021.

[Editor鈥檚 note: In late Febrary, the Biden-Harris administration named Matsudaira Deputy Undersecretary of Education, with responsibility for higher education policy.]