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Immigrant and Native Responses to Welfare Reform

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  • Robert Kaestner
  • Neeraj Kaushal

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effect of federal welfare reform on the employment, hours of work and marriage rates of three groups of low-educated women: foreign-born citizens, foreign-born non-citizens and native-born citizens. Among non-citizens, we investigate whether the behavioral response to welfare reform differed by recency of immigration. Finally, because some states created programs to insure that all legal immigrants remained eligible for benefits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and others did not, we compare the response of foreign-born non-citizens between these states to investigate whether the immigrant provisions of federal welfare reform legislation had a 'chilling' effect. The results suggest that welfare reform induced native-born citizens and foreign- born non-citizens to increase their employment and attachment to the labor market. TANF appears to have had a larger effect on the least educated native-born women and among foreign-born non-citizens, a larger effect on more recent arrivals. The 'chilling' hypothesis that has received so much attention in the popular press is not supported by our results. Finally, our estimates indicate that TANF had no effect on native- and foreign-born citizens' marriage decisions. TANF was associated with a decrease in the marriage rates of foreign-born non-citizens.

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  • Robert Kaestner & Neeraj Kaushal, 2001. "Immigrant and Native Responses to Welfare Reform," NBER Working Papers 8541, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8541
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    Cited by:

    1. Suzanne Bonner & Dipanwita Sarkar, 2020. "Who responds to fertility-boosting incentives? Evidence from pro-natal policies in Australia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(18), pages 513-548.
    2. Marianne Bitler & Jonah Gelbach & Hilary Hoynes & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "The impact of welfare reform on marriage and divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(2), pages 213-236, May.
    3. Audrey Light & Yoshiaki Omori, 2009. "Economic Incentives and Family Formation," Working Papers 09-08, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    4. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Children's Living Arrangements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(1).
    5. Robert Kaestner & Sanders Korenman & June O'Neill, 2003. "Has welfare reform changed teenage behaviors?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 225-248.
    6. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Children's Living Arrangements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(1).
    7. Martin Kahanec & Anna Myung‐Hee Kim & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2013. "Pitfalls of immigrant inclusion into the European welfare state," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(1), pages 39-55, March.
    8. Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Kahanec, Martin & Giulietti, Corrado & Guzi, Martin & Barrett, Alan & Maitre, Bertrand, 2012. "Study on Active Inclusion of Migrants," IZA Research Reports 43, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Tara Watson, 2014. "Inside the Refrigerator: Immigration Enforcement and Chilling Effects in Medicaid Participation," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 313-338, August.
    10. Audrey Light & Yoshiaki Omori, 2012. "Can Long-Term Cohabiting and Marital Unions be Incentivized?," Research in Labor Economics, in: Research in Labor Economics, pages 241-283, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    11. Jonathan F. Pingle, 2003. "What if welfare had no work requirements? the age of youngest child exemption and the rise in employment of single mothers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2003-57, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Xiaoning Huang & Neeraj Kaushal & Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2021. "What Explains the Gap in Welfare Use Among Immigrants and Natives?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 819-860, August.
    13. Rebecca M. Blank, 2002. "Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1105-1166, December.
    14. Chris Herbst, 2013. "Welfare reform and the subjective well-being of single mothers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(1), pages 203-238, January.
    15. Bratsberg, Bernt & Raaum, Oddbjørn & Røed, Knut, 2020. "Immigrant Responses to Social Insurance Generosity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Marcella Alsan & Crystal Yang, 2018. "Fear and the Safety Net: Evidence from Secure Communities," NBER Working Papers 24731, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Bae Jung, 2020. "Immigration Relief and Insurance Coverage: Evidence from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-37, July.
    18. LoPalo, Melissa, 2019. "The effects of cash assistance on refugee outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 27-52.
    19. Marianne Bitler & Jonah Gelbach & Hilary Hoynes & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "The impact of welfare reform on marriage and divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(2), pages 213-236, May.
    20. Kampon Adireksombat, 2010. "The Effects of the 1993 Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion on the Labor Supply of Unmarried Women," Public Finance Review, , vol. 38(1), pages 11-40, January.
    21. Xiaoning Huang & Neeraj Kaushal & Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2020. "What Explains the Gap in Welfare Use among Immigrants and Natives?," NBER Working Papers 27811, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Neeraj Kaushal, 2006. "Amnesty Programs and the Labor Market Outcomes of Undocumented Workers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(3).
    23. Waldfogel, Jane, 2004. "Welfare reform and the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 919-939, October.

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    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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