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AFDC, SSI, and Welfare Reform Aggressiveness: Caseload Reductions vs. Caseload Shifting

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Abstract

Welfare reform has made receipt of cash benefits more difficult and less attractive for single mothers. We examine whether reforms of AFDC affected caseloads of another program - Supplemental Security Income (SSI). We exploit state variation in welfare reform over time, and find that female-headed households in states aggressively pursuing welfare reform were 21.6 percent more likely to receive SSI. This implies that a decrease in caseloads in one program cannot be interpreted as an equal-sized decrease in the number of families receiving public assistance. In addition, our results have policy implications for the well-being of families affected by welfare reform time limits.

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  • Lucie Schmidt & Purvi Sevak, 2000. "AFDC, SSI, and Welfare Reform Aggressiveness: Caseload Reductions vs. Caseload Shifting," Department of Economics Working Papers 2002-03, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    • Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2002-03
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    1. 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.
    2. Gregory Acs & Pamela Loprest, 1999. "The effect of disabilities on exits from AFDC," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 28-49.
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    6. Yelowitz, Aaron S., 1998. "Why did the SSI-disabled program grow so much? Disentangling the effect of Medicaid," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 321-349, June.
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