| Increasing our understanding about the nature of poverty is important due to its severe consequences at the individual, neighborhood and community levels. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand whether, or the degree to which, the causes of poverty vary across different types of neighborhoods. To accomplish this goal, cluster analysis was used to identify unique types of metropolitan neighborhoods. Next, variables that correspond to the causes of poverty were identified and entered into a factor analysis. The resulting factors were used as explanatory variables in a regression analysis explaining the variation in poverty across the different types of metropolitan neighborhoods. Findings indicate that poverty causes do vary significantly by neighborhood type. The findings can help policy makers formulate targeted neighborhood level anti-poverty strategies for the optimal utilization of limited resources. |
