We estimate the effect of welfare reform on the intergenerational transmission of welfare participation and related economic outcomes using a long panel of mother-daughter pairs over the survey period 1968-2013 in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Because states implemented welfare reform at different times starting in 1992, the cross-state…

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are long-standing policies that link cash assistance to low-income families to work effort. A new policy being tested in New York City adopts this "conditional cash transfer" principle and extends it to a broader set of family efforts to build their…

Although a vast amount of literature on the characteristics of public assistance recipients exists, little is known about the characteristics of the clientele of nonprofits that provide material assistance. This study examines the question of who receives material assistance from nonprofits. Three panels of the Survey of Income and Program…

Income is regarded as one of the clearest indicators of socioeconomic status and wellbeing in the developed world and is highly correlated with a wide range of outcomes. Despite its importance, there remains an issue as to the best way to collect income as part of surveys. This paper examines differences in how income is collected in a nationally…

Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs) have two main objectives: reducing poverty and increasing the human capital of children. To reach these objectives, transfers are given to poor households conditioned on investments in their children's education, health, and nutrition. Targeting mechanisms used by CCTs have been generally successful in…

Researchers analyzed the 2002 wave of the National Survey of America's Families, conducted by the Urban Institute and Child Trends, and examined material hardship in families raising children with disabilities. Measures of hardship included food insecurity, housing instability, health care access, and telephone disconnection. The research…

This article explores issues of persistent poverty and income inequality. The major focus is that of the alleviation of poverty. Is there a framework that delineates the roles for government, market forces and self-reliance that can effect a reduction in the level of poverty? The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act…

Comparison of samples of U.S. and Swedish children showed the proportion of children whose family income was below the poverty line was similar. Because all Swedish poor children received social transfers and transfers were more generous in Sweden, a much lower percentage of Swedish children were poor after transfers and taxes. (SK)

Used data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the effects of living in public housing as a child at some point between 1968-1982 on four young adult outcomes. Results indicated that having lived in public housing increased employment, raised earnings, and reduced welfare use but had no effect on household earnings relative to the…

This fourth annual report addresses the extent to which U.S. families depend on income from welfare programs, providing updated data on measures of welfare recipiency, dependency, and predictors of welfare dependence developed for previous reports. It highlights benefits under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), now Temporary…

This review is aimed at highlighting the impact of economic deprivation on the family, the nucleus of any social system. The low income families receiving "aid for families of the dependent children" (AFDC) are the focus. (Author)

Welfare programs and the people who use them have a bad public image. Any attempts at welfare reform should include the dissemination of factual information to eliminate the misconceptions. This information should include the following facts: (1) only 60% of poverty stricken households receive welfare; (2) most government services and funds to…

Drawing on 1998-99 survey and ethnographic data from research on the implementation and effects of welfare reform in four large cities, this paper describes the food security of mother-headed families in highly disadvantaged urban neighborhoods who had received or currently receive cash welfare benefits. The families of four groups of women were…

This report charts the experiences of women who have done better or worse than average after leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, highlighting differences in: education, health, and other characteristics; whether or not they were sanctioned before leaving; and welfare dependency (amount of time spent on welfare before leaving and off…

This report charts the experiences of women who have done better or worse than average after leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, highlighting: differences in education, health, and other characteristics; differences in whether or not they were sanctioned before leaving; and differences in welfare dependency (amount of time spent on…