Rebecca M. Blank

It takes a nation : a new agenda for fighting poverty

List of FiguresList of TablesPreface and AcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction3Ch. 1The Changing Face of Poverty13Ch. 2A Changing Economy52Ch. 3Changing Policy: Americas Efforts to Provide a Social Safety Net83Ch. 4What Do Antipoverty Programs Do?133Ch. 5Who Should Help the Poor?191Ch. 6The Movement toward Targeted Programs220Ch. 7Where Should We Go from Here?252Ch. 8Conclusions290Notes295References311Index329

Analyzing the length of welfare spells

Abstract This paper studies the determinants of the length of individual spells of welfare, focusing on how the length of a spell affects the probability of its termination. The analysis utilizes six years of monthly data on time spent in the AFDC program among female household heads. A variety of duration dependence models are estimated. Monthly AFDC participation does not show strong evidence of duration dependence. Two distinct groups appear to utilize welfare: one with a very low and constant probability of leaving welfare, and a second group which is more affected by time on the program.

When Do Women Use Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Food Stamps? The Dynamics of Eligibility versus Participation

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Chapter 48 Race and gender in the labor market

Abstract This chapter summarizes recent research in economics that investigates differentials by race and gender in the labor market. We start with a statistical overview of the trends in labor market outcomes by race, gender and Hispanic origin, including some simple regressions on the determinants of wages and employment. This is followed in Section 3 by an extended review of current theories about discrimination in the labor market, including recent extensions of taste-based theories, theories of occupational exclusion, and theories of statistical discrimination. Section 4 discusses empirical research that provides direct evidence of discrimination in the labor market, beyond “unexplained gaps” in wage or employment regressions. The remainder of the chapter reviews the evidence on race and gender gaps, particularly wage gaps. Section 5 reviews research on the impact of pre-market human capital differences in education and family background that differ by race and gender. Section 6 reviews the impact of differences in both the levels and the returns to experience and seniority, with discussion of the role of training and labor market search and turnover on race and gender differentials. Section 7 reviews the role of job characteristics (particularly occupational characteristics) in the gender wage gap. Section 8 reviews the smaller literature on differences in fringe benefits by gender. Section 9 is an extensive discussion of the empirical work that accounts for changes in the trends in race and gender differentials over time. Of particular interest is the new research literature that investigates the impact of widening wage inequality on race and gender wage gaps. Section 10 reviews research that relates policy changes to race and gender differentials, including anti-discrimination policy. The chapter concludes with comments about a future research agenda.

The new world of welfare

Congress must reauthorize the sweeping 1996 welfare reform legislation by October 1, 2002. A number of issues that were prominent in the 1995-96 battle over welfare reform are likely to resurface in the debate over reauthorization. Among those issues are the five-year time limit, provisions to reduce out-of-wedlock births, the adequacy of child care funding, problems with Medicaid and food stamp receipt by working families, and work requirements. Funding levels are also certain to be controversial. Fiscal conservatives will try to lower grant spending levels, while states will seek to maintain them and gain additional discretion in the use of funds. Finally, a movement to encourage states to promote marriage among low-income families is already taking shape. The need for reauthorization presents an opportunity to assess what welfare reform has accomplished and what remains to be done. The New World of Welfare is an attempt to frame the policy debate for reauthorization, and to inform the policy discussion among the states and at the federal level, especially by drawing lessons from research on the effects of welfare reform. In the book, a diverse set of welfare experts uliberal and conservative, academic and nonacademic uengage in rigorous debate on topics ranging from work experience programs, to job availability, to child well-being, to family formation. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on welfare reform, the contributors cover subjects including work and wages, effects of reform on family income and poverty, the politics of conservative welfare reform, sanctions and time limits, financial work incentives for low-wage earners, the use of medicaid and food stamps, welfare-to-work, child support, child care, and welfare reform and immigration. Preparation of the volume was supported by funds from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Contributors include Thomas L. Gais, Richard P. Nathan, and Irene Lurie (Rockefeller Inistitute, SUNY-Albany), Thomas Kaplan (University of Wisconsin), Lucie Schmidt (University of Michigan), Charles Murray (American Enterprise Institute), Hugh Heclo (George Mason University), Lawrence M. Mead (NYU), ), Julie Strawn, Mark Greenberg, and Steve Savner (Center for Law and Social Policy), Ladonna Pavetti (Mathematica Policy Research), Dan Bloom (Manpower Demonstration Research Corp.), Charles Michalopoulos and Gordon Berlin (Manpower Demonstraton Research Corporation), Jason A. Turner (Commissioner of Welfare, State of New York), Thomas Main (Baruch College of the City University of New York), Sheila Zedlewski and Pamela Loprest (Urban Institute), Robert Greenstein and Jocelyn Guyer (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities), George Borjas (Harvard University), Greg Duncan and Lindsay Chase-Landsdale (Northwestern University), Wade F. Horn (National Fatherhood Initiative), Isabel V. Sawhill (Brookings Institution, Irwin Garfinkel (Columbia University), Douglas Besharov and Nazanin Samari (American Enterprise Institute), Lynn A. Karoly, Jacob A. Klerman, and Jeannette A. Rogowski (RAND Corp.).

State abortion rates. The impact of policies, providers, politics, demographics, and economic environment.

This paper uses data on abortion rates by state from 1974-1988 to estimate two-stage least squares models with fixed state and year effects. Restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion are correlated with lower abortion rates in-state and higher rates among nearby states. A maximal estimate suggests that 19-25% of the abortions among low-income women that are publicly funded do not take place after funding is eliminated. Parental notification laws for teen abortions do not significantly affect aggregate abortion rates. A larger number of abortion providers in a state increases the abortion rate, primarily through inducing cross-state travel.

Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off?

As the Clinton administration considers major overhauls in health insurance, welfare, and labor market regulation, it is important for economists and policymakers to understand the impact of social and welfare programs on employment rates. This volume explores how programs such as social security, income transfers, and child care in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan have affected labor market flexibility—the ability of workers to adjust to fast-growing segments of the economy. Does tying health insurance to employment limit job mobility? Do housing policies inhibit workers from moving to new jobs in different areas? What are the effects of daycare and maternity leave policies on working mothers? The authors explore these and many other questions in an effort to understand why European unemployment rates are so high compared with the U.S. rate. Through an examination of diverse data sets across different countries, the authors find that social protection programs do not strongly affect labor market flexibility. A valuable comparison of labor markets and welfare programs, this book demonstrates how social protection policies have affected employment rates around the globe.

The Effect of Medical Need and Medicaid on AFDC Participation

This paper investigates the need for medical insurance and the effect of Medicaid eligibility rules on the behavior of female-headed households with children, using 1980 data from the National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey. It estimates the extent to which health problems and the parameters of the Medicaid program affect AFDC participation, labor market involvement, and Medicaid usage among the Medically Needy. Health problems significantly increase AFDC participation, but neither the presence of a Medically Needy program nor the value of Medicaid insurance coverage has significant effects on AFDC usage. The Medically Needy program appears to be used by households which experience significant medical problems, but which would be uninsured if this program were not available.

POVERTY, POLICY AND PLACE: HOW POVERTY AND POLICIES TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY ARE SHAPED BY LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS

This article synthesizes an extensive literature on how local characteristics might affect the nature of poverty, particularly U.S. rural poverty. The attributes discussed include the natural environment, economic structure, public and community institutions, social norms, and demographic characteristics. In each case, the author discusses the ways in which these attributes can affect poverty and indicates what this implies about effective antipoverty policies. Multiple causal factors affect place-specific outcomes and interact so that “outcome” and “cause” are difficult to untangle. One implication is that both place-based and people-based policies may be necessary.

Disaggregating the Effect of the Business Cycle on the Distribution of Income

This paper disaggregates total household income into a complete set of components and studies the comparative cyclicality of these components. The cyclical responsiveness of total household income, wages, hours of work and total labor market income of heads and wives, and transfer income is compared across income, race, sex, and age groups. This provides a picture of the channels by which economic cyclicality produces income change. Significant differences in elasticities are found to exist both between different income components and between different population groups for the same components. The narrowing income distribution in times of high growth occurs primarily because of large elasticities on heads labor market income among the poor. Both wages and hours show evidence of cyclicality. The labor market earnings of women--both wives and household heads--are far less responsive to growth. Cyclicality in transfer income varies enormously between population groups and by type of transfer. Copyright 1989 by The London School of Economics and Political Science.