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The Effect of Welfare on Work and Marriage: A View from the States

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  • Mickey Hepner
  • W. Robert Reed

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the work and family structure incentives of public assistance, focusing on the consequences of state-determined programs. Such an approach allows state policy- makers to understand the tradeoffs implicit in their current program parameters. It allows them to better identify alternative arrangements that may be more consistent with policy goals. And it discovers linkages between work and family structure incentives that may be otherwise difficult to discern. We follow the previous literature in working through a small set of common scenarios meant to represent typical experiences of public assistance recipients. However, accompanying this study is an EXCEL spreadsheet program that allows interested readers to extend the analysis for the complete set of program participation/family characteristics permutations. The spreadsheet has a user-friendly interface and may be downloaded from the internet.
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  • Mickey Hepner & W. Robert Reed, 2004. "The Effect of Welfare on Work and Marriage: A View from the States," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 24(3), pages 349-370, Fall.
  • Handle: RePEc:cto:journl:v:24:y:2004:i:3:p:349-370
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wilson, Paul W. & Cline, Robert, 1994. "State Welfare Reform: Integrating Tax Credits and Income Transfers," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 47(3), pages 655-76, September.
    2. Dickert-Conlin, Stacy & Houser, Scott, 1998. "Taxes and Transfers: A New Look at the Marriage Penalty," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 51(n. 2), pages 175-217, June.
    3. Dickert, Stacy & Houser, Scott & Scholz, John Karl, 1994. "Taxes and the Poor: A Microsimulation Study of Implicit and Explicit Taxes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 47(3), pages 621-638, September.
    4. Wilson, Paul W. & Cline, Robert, 1994. "State Welfare Reform: Integrating Tax Credits and Income Transfers," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 47(3), pages 655-676, September.
    5. Dickert-Conlin, Stacy & Houser, Scott, 1998. "Taxes and Transfers: A New Look at the Marriage Penalty," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 51(2), pages 175-217, June.
    6. Hilary Williamson Hoynes, 1996. "Work, Welfare, and Family Structure: What Have We Learned?," NBER Working Papers 5644, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Salvador Ortigueira & Nawid Siassi, 2016. "Anti-poverty Income Transfers in the U.S.: A Framework for the Evaluation of Policy Reforms," Working Papers 2016-04, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    2. Hamersma Sarah, 2013. "The Effects of Medicaid Earnings Limits on Earnings Growth among Poor Workers," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 887-919, August.
    3. Louis Kaplow, 2007. "Optimal income transfers," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(3), pages 295-325, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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