Poor children are more likely to have repeated a grade than children who are not living in poverty. Poor people are at greater risk of being evicted from their apartment than are the non-poor. They are also more likely to live in crowded, run-down homes. Many poor families struggle with bills, or have their utilities turned off. Other problems that the poor face are not having ready access to consumer durables such as washing machines, dryers, air conditioning units and cars.
Crime is also often a bigger problem for the poor than it is for the non-poor.
To help track the level of economic activity in Alabama, CBER developed an econometric model of the state. Since 1980, output from that model has been published in the annual Alabama Economic Outlook series.