AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Beyond the Stats: Realities, Perception, and Social Media Discourse on Poverty
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114,
May 2024
(pp. 690–96)
Abstract
This paper investigates disparities among objective poverty measures, individuals' subjective perceptions, and poverty-related social media discourse in US counties. We find that while poverty and perceived poverty are positively correlated, poverty-related social media discourse is unrelated to a county's level of poverty. We document that the county-level predictors of the three poverty dimensions differ widely, suggesting that poverty-related social media discussions do not take place in the counties that are most affected by poverty or perceive themselves as poor. The paper concludes by highlighting discrepancies in social media discourse, revealing a skewed portrayal of poverty, particularly concerning gender and ethnicity.Citation
Bose, Paul, Lorenzo Lupo, Mahyar Habibi, Dirk Hovy, and Carlo Schwarz. 2024. "Beyond the Stats: Realities, Perception, and Social Media Discourse on Poverty." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 114: 690–96. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241007Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- L82 Entertainment; Media