Material Hardship among Lower-Income Households: The Role of Liquid Assets and Place

Abstract

Lower income households are at risk for material hardship, particularly amidst the economic fallout of COVID-19 Where one lives (e g , suburb, small town) may affect this risk due to variable access to resources, yet the evidence is mixed concerning the influence of place We used a pooled, national cross-sectional sample of 66,046 lower-income tax filers to examine differences in material hardship in rural, small town, micropolitan, and urban areas Controlling only for standard demographic variables, hardship risk appears higher in non-urban areas, yet these differences disappear after controlling for financial characteristics such as liquid assets and home ownership [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Poverty is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder s express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )