Micawber threshold

Etymology
From the Dickens character, known for his inability to work his way out of poverty.

Proper noun

 * 1)  A level of income, above the poverty line, but not high enough to cope with economic shocks.
 * 2) * 1994, Philip L. Martin, Mexican Maquiladoras: Origins, Operations and Outlook (International Institute for Labour Studies, 1994) p. 9
 * As for the moderate poverty line, the existence of positive expected net savings capacity is in a sense a Micawber threshold [Dickens 1849-50, ch. 14], separating accumulation from decumulation of the present value of a person's human and physical capital stock.