Editing Poverty threshold (section)

== Threshold limitations ==
[[File:Global-inequality-in-1800-1975-and-2015.png|thumb|Global income distribution over time ([[Our World in Data]]). The chart shows a significant shift of incomes toward higher levels.]]
It is hard to have exact number for poverty, as much data is collected through interviews, meaning income that is reported to the interviewer must be taken at face value.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haveman |first1=Robert |title=Who Are the Nation's 'Truly Poor'? Problems and Pitfalls in (Re)defining and Measuring Poverty |journal=The Brookings Review |date=1993 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=24–27 |doi=10.2307/20080360 |jstor=20080360 }}</ref> As a result, data could not rightly represent the situations true nature, nor fully represent the income earned illegally. In addition, if the data were correct and accurate, it would still not mean serving as an adequate measure of the living standards, the well-being or economic position of a given family or household. Research done by Haughton and Khandker<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haughton |first1=Jonathan |last2=Khandker |first2=Shahidur R. |title=Handbook on Poverty + Inequality |date=2009 |publisher=World Bank Publications |isbn=978-0-8213-7614-0 |oclc=568421757 }}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref> finds that there is no ideal measure of well-being, arguing that all measures of poverty are imperfect. That is not to say that measuring poverty should be avoided; rather, all indicators of poverty should be approached with caution, and questions about how they are formulated should be raised.

As a result, depending on the indicator of economic status used, an estimate of who is disadvantaged, which groups have the highest poverty rates, and the nation's progress against poverty varies significantly. Hence, this can mean that defining poverty is not just a matter of measuring things accurately, but it also necessitates fundamental social judgments, many of which have moral implications.