1. Why is poverty examined by urban economists (among others)?

2. How does current income and future expected income enter into the concept of poverty?

3. How do in-kind benefits affect the level of poverty?

4. What is the official definition of poverty?

5. Would the lowest relative income be a useful measure of poverty? Why or why not?

6. What is the poverty gap?

7. How do aggregate economic fluctuations affect the poverty rate?

8. What factors contributed to a wider dispersion of income between the "haves" and "have-nots" during the 1980s?

9. Do antipoverty employment policies apply to all poor persons? Why or why not?

10. Why has the concentration of poverty caused many problems in larger cities?

11. In guaranteed income plans, how does the "take-back" rate affect the following: (a) the incentive to work, (b) the amount of budget expenditure required?

12. Do you agree that welfare reform that is tied to work effort and is administered through block grants to the states will improve the current system?

13. What are empowerment and enterprise zones and how are they expected to influence inner city poverty rates