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Trends Over Time in Employment for Mothers Who Received Welfare Benefits in 1996

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  • Denton R. Vaughan
  • Barbara A. Haley
  • Aref N. Dajani

Abstract

Welfare reform brought on by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 has been the object of considerable debate and scholarship. This article shows impact over time in employment for a nationally representative sample of welfare mothers who received welfare benefits in 1996, using the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), linked to 10 years of their IRS wage records. In 1996, nearly half of them worked for wages. The vast majority had attained a high school diploma or less. Almost a fifth reported a severe disability and either fair or poor health. In 1997, the PRWORA was implemented for the entire U.S. That year, nearly three‐fifths had paid employment. Nearly three‐quarters received wages by 2000. After the recession of 2001, receipt of wages decreased. By 2007, receipt of wages was back to the 1997 level. Health, age, education, and work history of these mothers impacted receipt of wages as expected, but not car ownership and number of children. Our longitudinal data demonstrate the impact of business cycles as well as health, age, education, and work history to determine paid employment outcomes. Analyses of future SIPP panels will determine whether these trends continue.

Suggested Citation

  • Denton R. Vaughan & Barbara A. Haley & Aref N. Dajani, 2020. "Trends Over Time in Employment for Mothers Who Received Welfare Benefits in 1996," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 271-303, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:271-303
    DOI: 10.1002/pop4.288
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    1. Denton R. Vaughan & Barbara A. Haley & Aref N. Dajani, 2021. "Ten years later: Self‐sufficiency of welfare mothers before the Great Recession," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(2), pages 184-223, June.

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