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When Welfare-to-Work Programs Seem to Work Well: Explaining Why Riverside and Portland Shine So Brightly

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  • David Greenberg
  • Karl Ashworth
  • Andreas Cebulla
  • Robert Walker

Abstract

Of welfare-to-work programs evaluated by random assignment, two stand out as having exceptionally large estimated effects: one in Riverside, California, and the other in Portland, Oregon. The authors use data from 24 evaluations and the tools of meta-analysis to examine why. The findings indicate that the apparently superior performance of these two programs in increasing the earnings of participants is only partly attributable to program design (for example, the type of services provided, the use of sanctions, and the quality of program administration). Differences in caseload characteristics and site characteristics are probably more important. However, Riverside and Portland's relatively large effects in reducing the percentage of participants on the AFDC rolls appear mainly attributable to the design of the programs run in these sites.

Suggested Citation

  • David Greenberg & Karl Ashworth & Andreas Cebulla & Robert Walker, 2005. "When Welfare-to-Work Programs Seem to Work Well: Explaining Why Riverside and Portland Shine So Brightly," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(1), pages 34-50, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:59:y:2005:i:1:p:34-50
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390505900103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Howard S. Bloom & Carolyn J. Hill & James A. Riccio, 2003. "Linking program implementation and effectiveness: Lessons from a pooled sample of welfare-to-work experiments," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 551-575.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernhard Boockmann, 2010. "The Combined Employment Effects of Minimum Wages and Labor Market Regulation—a Meta-Analysis," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 61(Supplemen), pages 167-188.
    2. Nathan Berg & Todd Gabel, 2013. "Effects of New Welfare Reform Strategies on Welfare Participation: Microdata Estimates from Canada," Working Papers 1304, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2013.
    3. Greenberg, David H. & Deitch, Victoria & Hamilton, Gayle, 2010. "A Synthesis of Random Assignment Benefit-Cost Studies of Welfare-to-Work Programs," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 1-30, July.
    4. Ian Greer, 2016. "Welfare reform, precarity and the re-commodification of labour," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 30(1), pages 162-173, February.

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