Bottom incomes and the measurement of poverty

Disposable household income is the variable of choice for distributional analysis in the majority of high- and middle-income countries, notably in Europe and the Americas. Income data from household budget surveys can contain zero or negative values because income can be subject to significant variations across periods of time. Some households may experience periods of no income or negative incomes because of temporary variations in savings and investments, losses from self-employment, or various accounting or measurement practices.