Sophie Collyer, MPA, Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, "The immediate impacts of COVID-19 on income and hardship in New York City"
Dr. Collyer presented data from Poverty Tracker, a longitudinal study tracking trends in poverty, material hardship, health problems, and general well-being in New York City. Poverty Tracker was launched in 2012 to examine the dynamics of poverty and other forms of disadvantage over time, and understand what policies and other changes can sustainability lift people out or push people into poverty. The study interviews representative samples of adults quarterly over several years, and currently has 4 cohorts of 900-4,000 respondents. The study collects core measures of disadvantage, including data on income poverty, material hardship, and health problems, through an annual survey, while other aspects of wellbeing are assessed through a quarterly survey. Because the study is designed to allow ongoing changes to survey modules to assess the effects of changing city policies (such as paid sick leave laws), the Poverty Tracker tool has been able to nimbly adapt to study the economic changes brought about by COVID-19. Based on findings before COVID-19, the study found that poverty was falling in NYC in the period between 2012 and 2018, although it remained significantly above the average poverty levels in metropolitan areas and the United States as a whole. The study found that tax credits, nutrition programs, and housing subsidies effectively reduced the poverty rate, although at least 50% of adults lived in poverty in at least one of the years between 2015 and 2018. In current findings on COVID-19 impacts, Dr. Collyer found that those who lost work due to COVID-19 were more likely to be considered low income and experiencing hardship than those who did not. This was particularly true of black and Hispanic populations. Overall, the data collected suggests that those hardest hit economically by the COVID-19 pandemic were those who were already facing challenges. Dr. Collyer’s group is now developing a second survey to assess hardships as well as financial instruments and support networks that have been utilized by respondents during this time.
