American Poverty and Social Rejection in Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya

This paper examines the image of American poverty, rejection and social engagement in a recent sports biopic inspired by the story of American skater Tonya Harding, Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya (2017). It draws on data presented in recent poverty studies to determine the extent of deprivation and attend to its representation in American cinema. In the light of the above, I closely analyze the biopic, focusing on its depiction of professional figure skating, expectations of female athletes, and most importantly, the figure of Tonya Harding. I argue that the protagonist’s social background dominates her portrayal, which also challenges the common conception of a sports biopic; Harding’s narrative is defined by her mismatch with ice skating’s normative expectations and, most importantly, by her social standing.

Labor Unions and American Poverty

American poverty research largely neglects labor unions. The authors use individual-level panel data, incorporate both household union membership and state-level union density, and analyze both working poverty and working-aged poverty (among households led by 18- to 64-year-olds). They estimate three-way fixed effects (person, year, and state) and fixed-effects individual slopes models on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), 1976–2015. They exploit the higher quality income data in the Cross-National Equivalent File—an extension of the PSID—to measure relative (<50% of median in current year) and anchored (<50% of median in 1976) poverty. Both union membership and state union density have statistically and substantively significant negative relationships with relative and anchored working and working-aged poverty. Household union membership and state union density significantly negatively interact, augmenting the poverty-reducing effects of each. Higher state union density spills over to reduce poverty among non-union households, and there is no evidence that higher state union density worsens poverty for non-union households or undermines employment.

Pandemic will worsen long-term Latin American poverty

Headline LATIN AMERICA: Pandemic will worsen long-term poverty

Labor Unions and American Poverty

American poverty research largely neglects labor unions. We use individual-level panel data, incorporate both household union membership and state-level union density, and analyze both working and working-aged poverty. We estimate three-way fixed-effects (person, year, and state) and fixed-effects individual slopes models on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) 1976-2015. We exploit the Cross-National Equivalent File’s – an extension of the PSID – higher quality income data to measure relative and anchored poverty. Both union membership and state union density have statistically and substantively significant negative relationships with relative and anchored working and working-aged poverty. Household union membership and state union density significantly negatively interact, augmenting the poverty-reducing effects of each. Higher state union density spills over to reduce poverty among non-union households, and there is no evidence that higher state union density worsens poverty for non-union households or undermines employment.

Latin American poverty is again on the increase

Headline LATIN AMERICA: Poverty again on the increase