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Are We Understanding the Impact of Economic Conditions on Welfare Rolls?

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Author Info
Dan Black () (Syracuse University)
Terra McKinnish (University of Colorado)

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Abstract

In this paper, we argue that welfare participation is more sensitive to economic conditions than previously believed. Why? Prior research focused on short-term economic fluctuations and ignored differences between high- and low-skilled workers. As welfare reform is long-term (i.e., permanent) it makes more sense to make comparisons with long-term economic trends. Also, since low-skilled workers are more likely to end up on welfare, it is proper to focus on their economic opportunities. Thus, we focus on the long-term impact of economic conditions on welfare participation, and we concentrate our analysis on low-skilled workers. Specifically, we analyze long-term changes in the supply of high-paying jobs for coal and steel workers as they affect certain heavy coal and steel-producing regions of the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Our findings indicate that welfare participation in these regions closely mirrors the long-term local availability of high-paying jobs for low-skilled workers. This has serious policy implications for the long-term success of welfare reform.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by The Centre for Labour Market Research (CLMR), Curtin Business School in its journal Australian Journal of Labour Economics.

Volume (Year): 5 (2002)
Issue (Month): 4 (December)
Pages: 489-505
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Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:5:y:2002:i:4:p:489-505

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Web page: http://www.business.curtin.edu.au/business/research/journals-published-by-cbs/australian-journal-of-labour-economics

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Related research
Keywords: Government programs; provision and effects of welfare programs Macroeconomics; employment; unemployment; wages; wage indexation;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Timothy J. Bartik & Randall W. Eberts, 1999. "Examining the Effect of Industry Trends and Structure on Welfare Caseloads," Staff Working Papers 99-54, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Bruce D. Meyer & Dan T. Rosenbaum, 1999. "Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers," NBER Working Papers 7363, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. V. Joseph Hotz & John Karl Scholz, 2001. "The Earned Income Tax Credit," NBER Working Papers 8078, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Stacy Dickert & Scott Houser & John Karl Scholz, 1995. "The Earned Income Tax Credit and Transfer Programs: A Study of Labor Market and Program Participation," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 9, pages 1-50 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  5. Rebecca M. Blank, 1997. "What Causes Public Assistance Caseloads to Grow?," NBER Working Papers 6343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Jacobson, Louis S & LaLonde, Robert J & Sullivan, Daniel G, 1993. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 685-709, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Carrington, William J & Zaman, Asad, 1994. "Interindustry Variation in the Costs of Job Displacement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 243-75, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Rebecca M. Blank, 1999. "What Goes Up Must Come Down? Explaining Recent Changes in Public Assistance Caseloads," JCPR Working Papers 78, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  9. David N. Figlio & James P. Ziliak, 1999. "Welfare Reform, the Business Cycle, and the Decline in AFDC Caseloads," JCPR Working Papers 77, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
Full references

Statistics
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