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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program: Time for Improvements

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Listed:
  • Ron Haskins
  • Matt Weidinger

Abstract

The 1996 welfare reforms imposed major changes on the nation’s means-tested benefits, including a requirement that states place at least half of their cash welfare caseload in work or related activities. Congress also increased both cash and in-kind subsidies for low-income working families. Between the mid-1990s and 2000, work and wages among low-income women increased and poverty declined. The recessions of 2001 and 2007–2009 caused rising employment to falter, but after 2014, women’s employment rose again, and poverty declined. The impacts of welfare reform on these outcomes have been disputed, with many on the Left charging that states have used welfare funds inappropriately and many on the Right arguing that welfare reform played a major role in the improvements in work, wages, and poverty. We review reforms that have been proposed by one or both parties in recent years, including focusing spending on benefits and work. We conclude with lessons of these reform experiences for future reforms of entitlement programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Ron Haskins & Matt Weidinger, 2019. "The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program: Time for Improvements," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 686(1), pages 286-309, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:686:y:2019:i:1:p:286-309
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716219881628
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruce D. Meyer & Derek Wu & Victoria R. Mooers & Carla Medalia, 2019. "The Use and Misuse of Income Data and Extreme Poverty in the United States," NBER Working Papers 25907, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Haskins, Ronald, 2017. "Using Government Programs to Encourage Employment, Increase Earnings, and Grow the Economy," Working Papers 07513, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nina Drejerska & Mariola Chrzanowska & Jakub Wysoczański, 2023. "Cash transfers and female labor supply—how public policy matters? A bibliometric analysis of research patterns," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 5381-5402, December.

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