Welfare Reform

Effects of a Decade of Change

Jeffrey T. Grogger, Lynn A. Karoly, Jeff GROGGER

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780674018914
• eBook ISBN: 9780674037960
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Public Finance
• Index: Politics & International Relations

During the 1990s the United States undertook the greatest social policy reform since the Social Security Act of 1935. In Welfare Reform: Effects of a Decade of Change, Jeffrey Grogger and Lynn Karoly assemble evidence from numerous studies, including nearly three dozen social experiments, to assess how welfare reform has affected behavior. To broaden our understanding of this wide-ranging policy reform, the authors evaluate the evidence in relation to an economic model of behavior. The evidence they collect reveals the trade-offs that policymakers face in achieving the conflicting goals of promoting work, reducing dependency, and alleviating need among the poor. Finally, the authors identify numerous areas where important gaps remain in our understanding of the effects of welfare reform.

The book will be a crucial resource for policy economists, social policy specialists, other professionals concerned with welfare policy, and students.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• List of Acronyms
• Chapter one Introduction
• Chapter two Background
• Chapter three An Economic Model
• Chapter four Methodological Issues
• Chapter five Welfare Use and Welfare Payments
• Chapter six Employment, Labor Supply, and Earnings
• Chapter seven Income and Poverty
• Chapter eight Family Structure
• Chapter nine Child Outcomes
• Chapter ten Theory, Evidence, and Policy Trade-offs
• Appendix A. Sources for Experimental Study Results
• Appendix B. Methodology for Summary Figures in Chapter 10
• Notes
• References
• Index