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Duration of Public Assistance Receipt: Is Welfare a Trap?

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Author Info
G. Sandefur
S. Cook
Abstract

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to answer two questions about the effects of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program: (1) Does the length of time that one receives AFDC affect the likelihood of permanently leaving AFDC? (2) What personal and family characteristics are associated with the long-term receipt of AFDC? The answer to the first question is that the likelihood of permanently leaving AFDC decreases with the length of time that individuals receive benefits, after adjustments for other measured and unmeasured attributes of individuals and their families. The answer to the second question is that not having a high school diploma, never having married, having more than two children, and having little work experience are associated with long-term receipt. Many of the recipients who will reach the five-year limit imposed by the new federal legislation are in situations that make it difficult for them to support themselves and their families without public assistance.

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Paper provided by University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty in its series Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers with number 1129-97.

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Handle: RePEc:wop:wispod:1129-97

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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. Blank, Rebecca M., 1989. "Analyzing the length of welfare spells," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 245-273, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Heckman, James & Singer, Burton, 1984. "A Method for Minimizing the Impact of Distributional Assumptions in Econometric Models for Duration Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 271-320, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. G. Sandefur & T. Wells, . "Trends in AFDC Participation Rates: The Implications for Welfare Reform," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1116-96, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty. [Downloadable!]
  5. Hilary Williamson Hoynes, 1996. "Local Labor Markets and Welfare Spells: Do Demand Conditions Matter?," NBER Working Papers 5643, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. O'Neill, June A & Bassi, Laurie J & Wolf, Douglas A, 1987. "The Duration of Welfare Spells," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(2), pages 241-48, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, 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. Helen H. Jensen & Shao-Hsun Keng & Steven Garasky, 2000. "Location and the Low Income Experience: Analyses of Program Dynamics in the Iowa Family Investment Program," JCPR Working Papers 194, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Suwen Pan & Helen H. Jensen & Wayne A. Fuller & Samarendu Mohanty, 2006. "The effects of local labour market conditions on welfare programme participation," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 649-659, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Mairead Reidy & Lucy Mackey-Bilaver & Robert M. Goerge & Yizu Yeh & Bong Joo Lee, 1998. "The Dynamics of AFDC, Medicaid, and Food Stamps: A Preliminary Report," JCPR Working Papers 48, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research. [Downloadable!]
  4. Keng, Shao-H & Garasky, Steven & Jensen, Helen H., 2003. "Welfare Dependence, Recidivism, and the Future for Recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)," Staff General Research Papers 10650, Iowa State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Luis Ayala & Magdalena Rodríguez, . "Multiple Ocurrence Of Welfare Recipiency: Determinants And Policy Implications," Working Papers 13-04 Classification-JEL , Instituto de Estudios Fiscales. [Downloadable!]
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