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Welfare reforms and child well-being in the US and UK

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  • Waldfogel, Jane

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of recent welfare reforms in the US and UK on the well-being of children in low-income families, looking specifically at the effects on poverty, family expenditures, and child health and development. The paper finds some commonalities but also some notable differences. Common to both countries is a sizable reduction in child poverty, although the reduction in child poverty in the US has been less, and some families appear to have been left behind. Expenditure data also point to divergence across the two countries. In the UK, low-income families affected by the reforms are spending more money on items related to children and are more likely to own a car and a phone, while in the US, families affected by welfare reforms are primarily spending more money on items related to employment but not items for children. Finally, a common finding across countries is a relative dearth of more direct evidence on the well-being of children, and specifically how the reforms have affected child health and development. Identifying such effects remains an important topic for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Waldfogel, Jane, 2007. "Welfare reforms and child well-being in the US and UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6208, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:6208
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/6208/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruce D. Meyer & Dan T. Rosenbaum, 2001. "Welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 116(3), pages 1063-1114.
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    5. Brewer, Mike & Duncan, Alan & Shephard, Andrew & Suarez, Maria Jose, 2006. "Did working families' tax credit work? The impact of in-work support on labour supply in Great Britain," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 699-720, December.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Midgley, James & Stewart, Kitty & Piachaud, David & Glennerster, Howard, 2008. "Welfare reform in the United States: implications for British social policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6192, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. repec:cep:sticas:/131 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Waldfogel, Jane & Washbrook, Elizabeth, 2011. "Early years policy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 43728, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Amalia R. Miller & Lei Zhang, 2012. "Intergenerational Effects of Welfare Reform on Educational Attainment," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(2), pages 437-476.
    5. Kenneth Couch & Timothy M. Smeeding & Jane Waldfogel, 2010. "Fighting poverty: Attentive policy can make a huge difference," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 401-407.
    6. James Midgley, 2008. "Welfare Reform in the United States: Implications for British Social Policy (with commentaries by Kitty Stewart, David Piachaud and Howard Glennerster)," CASE Papers case131, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    7. Silvia Mendolia, 2016. "Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children: Evidence from British Data," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 566-580, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    welfare; poverty; expenditures; child well-being;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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