IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v30y2011i6p1399-1415.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of welfare reform on vocational education and training

Author

Listed:
  • Dave, Dhaval M.
  • Reichman, Nancy E.
  • Corman, Hope
  • Das, Dhiman

Abstract

Exploiting variation in welfare reform across states and over time and using relevant comparison groups, this study estimates the effects of welfare reform on an important source of human capital acquisition among women at risk for relying on welfare: vocational education and training. The results suggest that welfare reform reduced enrollment in full-time vocational education and had no significant effects on part-time vocational education or participation in other types of work-related courses, though there appears to be considerable heterogeneity across states with respect to the strictness of educational policy and the strength of work incentives under welfare reform. In addition, we find evidence of heterogeneous effects by prior educational attainment. We find no evidence that the previously observed negative effects of welfare reform on formal education (including college enrollment), which we replicated in this study, have been offset by increases in vocational education and training.

Suggested Citation

  • Dave, Dhaval M. & Reichman, Nancy E. & Corman, Hope & Das, Dhiman, 2011. "Effects of welfare reform on vocational education and training," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1399-1415.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:30:y:2011:i:6:p:1399-1415
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.07.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775711001117
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.07.008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moffitt, Robert, 1992. "Incentive Effects of the U.S. Welfare System: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 1-61, March.
    2. Duane E. Leigh & Andrew M. Gill, 1997. "Labor Market Returns to Community Colleges: Evidence for Returning Adults," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(2), pages 334-353.
    3. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2005. "Welfare Reform and Health," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(2).
    4. Jeffrey Grogger, 2004. "Time Limits and Welfare Use," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    5. Robert Kaestner & Sanders Korenman & June O'Neill, 2003. "Has welfare reform changed teenage behaviors?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 225-248.
    6. Thomas J. Kane & Cecilia Elena Rouse, 1999. "The Community College: Educating Students at the Margin between College and Work," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 63-84, Winter.
    7. Robert Kaestner & Elizabeth Tarlov, 2006. "Changes in the welfare caseload and the health of low-educated mothers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 623-643.
    8. Thomas DeLeire & Judith A. Levine & Helen Levy, 2006. "Is Welfare Reform Responsible for Low-Skilled Women’s Declining Health Insurance Coverage in the 1990s?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(3).
    9. Heather Koball, 2007. "Living Arrangements and School Dropout Among Minor Mothers Following Welfare Reform," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1374-1391, December.
    10. Paul Offner, 2005. "Welfare Reform and Teenage Girls," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 86(2), pages 306-322, June.
    11. Dhaval M. Dave & Nancy E. Reichman & Hope Corman, 2008. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Educational Acquisition of Young Adult Women," NBER Working Papers 14466, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Kaestner, Robert & Kaushal, Neeraj, 2003. "Welfare reform and health insurance coverage of low-income families," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 959-981, November.
    13. Rebecca M. Blank, 2002. "Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1105-1166, December.
    14. Neeraj Kaushal & Robert Kaestner, 2001. "From Welfare to Work: Has Welfare Reform Worked?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 699-719.
    15. Grubb, W. Norton, 2002. "Learning and earning in the middle, part II: state and local studies of pre-baccalaureate education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 401-414, October.
    16. Grubb, W. Norton, 2002. "Learning and earning in the middle, part I: national studies of pre-baccalaureate education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 299-321, August.
    17. Estelle, Sarah M., 2011. "The academic impact on children of maternal post-secondary enrollment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 353-364, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dhaval Dave & Hope Corman & Nancy Reichman, 2012. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Education Acquisition of Adult Women," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 251-282, June.
    2. Hope Corman & Dhaval Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2017. "Effects Of Welfare Reform On Women'S Voting Participation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1430-1451, July.
    3. Hope Corman & Dhaval M. Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2018. "Age Gradient in Female Crime: Welfare Reform as a Turning Point," NBER Working Papers 24464, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Pavel V. Travkin, 2014. "The Returns To Training In Russia: A Difference-In-Differences Analysis," HSE Working papers WP BRP 56/EC/2014, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    5. Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2021. "State TANF Time Limit and Work Sanction Stringencies and Long-Term Trajectories of Welfare Use, Labor Supply, and Income," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 650-696, December.
    6. Turner, Lesley J., 2016. "The returns to higher education for marginal students: Evidence from Colorado Welfare recipients," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 169-184.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dhaval Dave & Hope Corman & Nancy Reichman, 2012. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Education Acquisition of Adult Women," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 251-282, June.
    2. Dhaval M. Dave & Nancy E. Reichman & Hope Corman, 2008. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Educational Acquisition of Young Adult Women," NBER Working Papers 14466, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Hope Corman & Dhaval M. Dave & Dhiman Das & Nancy E. Reichman, 2013. "Effects Of Welfare Reform On Illicit Drug Use Of Adult Women," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 653-674, January.
    4. Corman, Hope & Dave, Dhaval & Kalil, Ariel & Reichman, Nancy E., 2018. "Reprint of: Effects of maternal work incentives on youth crime," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 193-209.
    5. Corman, Hope & Dave, Dhaval & Kalil, Ariel & Reichman, Nancy E., 2017. "Effects of maternal work incentives on youth crime," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 128-144.
    6. Dhaval M. Dave & Hope Corman & Ariel Kalil & Ofira Schwartz-Soicher & Nancy Reichman, 2019. "Intergenerational Effects of Welfare Reform: Adolescent Delinquent and Risky Behaviors," NBER Working Papers 25527, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Leonard M. Lopoo & Kerri M. Raissian, 2014. "U.S. Social Policy and Family Complexity," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 213-230, July.
    8. Dave, Dhaval M. & Corman, Hope & Kalil, Ariel & Schwartz-Soicher, Ofira & Reichman, Nancy E., 2019. "Effects of Maternal Work Incentives on Adolescent Social Behaviors," IZA Discussion Papers 12208, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. repec:pri:crcwel:wp06-04-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Jean Knab & Sara McLanahan & Irv Garfinkel, 2006. "The Effects of Welfare and Child Support Policies on Maternal Health and Wellbeing," Working Papers 931, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    11. Marianne Bitler & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Indirect Impacts on Health," NBER Working Papers 12642, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Dave E. Marcotte, 2010. "The Earnings Effect Of Education At Community Colleges," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(1), pages 36-51, January.
    13. Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2021. "State TANF Time Limit and Work Sanction Stringencies and Long-Term Trajectories of Welfare Use, Labor Supply, and Income," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 650-696, December.
    14. Celeste K. Carruthers & Thomas Sanford, 2015. "Way Station or Launching Pad? Unpacking the Returns to Postsecondary Adult Education," Working Papers 2015-02, University of Tennessee, Department of Economics.
    15. Narain, Kimberly & Bitler, Marianne & Ponce, Ninez & Kominski, Gerald & Ettner, Susan, 2017. "The impact of welfare reform on the health insurance coverage, utilization and health of low education single mothers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 28-35.
    16. Kim, Jeounghee & Joo, Myungkook, 2011. "Did PRWORA's mandatory school attendance policy increase attendance among targeted teenage girls?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1616-1623, September.
    17. Christopher Jepsen & Kenneth Troske & Paul Coomes, 2014. "The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 95-121.
    18. Rebecca M. Blank, 2002. "Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1105-1166, December.
    19. Jagannathan, Radha & Camasso, Michael J. & Sambamoorthi, Usha, 2010. "Experimental evidence of welfare reform impact on clinical anxiety and depression levels among poor women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 152-160, July.
    20. Darwin Miller, 2007. "Isolating the Causal Impact of Community College Enrollment on Educational Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes in Texas," Discussion Papers 06-033, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
    21. Lemieux, Thomas & Milligan, Kevin, 2008. "Incentive effects of social assistance: A regression discontinuity approach," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 807-828, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Welfare reform; Education; Vocational training; College; TANF; AFDC; Public assistance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:30:y:2011:i:6:p:1399-1415. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.