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Welfare Reform and the Labor Market

Author

Listed:
  • Marc K. Chan

    (Department of Economics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia)

  • Robert Moffitt

    (Department of Economics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA)

Abstract

This article reviews the basic theoretical models that are appropriate for analyzing different types of welfare reforms, as well as the related empirical literature. We first present the canonical labor supply model of a classical welfare program and then extend this basic framework to include in-kind transfers, incomplete take-up, human capital, preference persistence, and borrowing and saving. The empirical literature on these models is presented. The negative income tax, earnings subsidies, US welfare reforms with features that differ from those in other countries, and childcare reforms are then surveyed in terms of both the theoretical models and the empirical literature surrounding each.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc K. Chan & Robert Moffitt, 2018. "Welfare Reform and the Labor Market," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 347-381, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reveco:v:10:y:2018:p:347-381
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-080217-053452
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    2. Sigurd Mølster Galaasen, 2021. "Pension Reform Disabled," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(4), pages 1227-1260, October.
    3. Sebastian Galiani & Juan Pantano, 2021. "Structural Models: Inception and Frontier," NBER Working Papers 28698, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Bergolo, M. & Cruces, G., 2021. "The anatomy of behavioral responses to social assistance when informal employment is high," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    5. Robert A. Moffitt & Matthew V. Zahn, 2019. "The Marginal Labor Supply Disincentives of Welfare: Evidence from Administrative Barriers to Participation," NBER Working Papers 26028, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Campos, Nauro F. & De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2023. "Structural reforms and economic performance: the experience of advanced economies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120870, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Pritadrajati, Dyah, 2023. "Does social assistance disincentivise employment, job formality, and mobility?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Ning Zhang, 2022. "The Effect of Housing Assistance Program on Labor Supply and Family Formation," Working Papers 22-35, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    9. Andre Luduvice, 2021. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Universal Basic Income Programs," Working Papers 21-21, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    10. Han, Jeehoon, 2022. "The impact of SNAP work requirements on labor supply," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Lars Højsgaard Andersen & Christian Dustmann & Rasmus Landersø, 2019. "Lowering Welfare Benefits: Intended and Unintended Consequences for Migrants and their Families," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1905, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    12. Jianbo Jeff Luo, 2022. "Is Work a Burden? The Role of the Living Standard," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 61-77, August.
    13. Verena Löffler, 2021. "Questioning the feasibility and justice of basic income accounting for migration," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 273-314, August.
    14. Masayoshi Hayashi, 2021. "Transfer Benefits, Implicit Taxes, and the Earnings of Welfare Recipients: Evidence from Public Assistance Programs in Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1164, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    childcare reform; earnings subsidy; labor supply; welfare reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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