Income and Expenditures

This essay attempts to piece together a coherent picture of recent developments in the economic well-being of children in families headed by an unmarried female by presenting data from several household surveys that tell us about their income and expenditures. The focus is on the period of the greatest change in welfare programs, from the last peak in the poverty rate in 1993 to 2001. Also examined is whether recent directions and magnitudes of change are in line with longer-term trends.