Changing work ethic and welfare dependence through welfare reform. The 100-hour rule waiver experiment for AFDC-U

Assumptions about welfare dependency and work are examined in a randomized experiment that tested the impact of the 100-hour rule waiver for two-parent welfare families: Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Unemployed (AFDC-U). The 100-hour rule was waived for the experiment group, allowing the primary wage earners in these families to work more than 100 hours a month without losing welfare eligibility. The analysis uses county administrative data, unemployment insurance records, and Medicaid data, and compares regression adjusted least squares means for the control and experiment group. The results from the impact analysis indicate that waiving the 100-hour rule has no effect on primary wage earners' work activity and earnings. The 100-hour rule waiver also has little effect on time on aid and AFDC-U payments, and does not have an effect in reducing marital dissolution. The results cast doubts about the validity of the assumptions underlying some of the recent welfare reform initiatives.     

Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services: How Consumer Access Is Restricted by State Policies

State Medicaid programs have expanded home and community-based services (HCBS). This article compares trends and variations in state policies for Medicaid HCBS programs in 2005 and 2010. State limitations on financial eligibility criteria and service benefits have remained stable. Although the use of consumer direction, independent providers, and family care providers has increased, some states do not have these options. The increased adoption of state cost control policies have led to large increases in persons on waiver wait lists. Access could be improved by standardizing and liberalizing state HCBS policies, but state fiscal concerns are barriers to rebalancing between HCBS and institutional services.     

The Short and Long-Run Labor Market Effects of Age Eligibility Rules: Evidence from Women’s Professional Tennis

Age is often used in law and public policy as a low-cost proxy for competency, maturity, and ability. Age is also used in numerous sport (and non-sport) labor markets to determine workplace eligibility. We exploit the enactment of the women’s professional tennis minimum age rule (AR) in 1995 to estimate the effects of ARs on short-run and long-run labor market outcomes. We find very limited evidence that the AR has had any systematic beneficial effect on players’ career longevity or success. Our results suggest that sport governing bodies should (re-)evaluate the efficacy and necessity of “one size fits all” age eligibility rules.     

The TAL-Family of Rules for Bankruptcy Problems

This paper analyzes a family of rules for bankruptcy problems that generalizes the Talmud rule (T) and encompasses both the constrained equal-awards rule (A) and the constrained equal-losses rule (L). The family is defined by means of a parameter that can be interpreted as a measure of the distributive power of the rule. We provide a systematic study of the structural properties of the rules within the family and its connections with the existing literature.     

BEQUEST RECEIPT AND FAMILY SIZE EFFECTS

This article tests the connection between credit constraints and negative family size effects on child earnings using bequest receipt to signal access to credit markets. The dominant economic model of fertility predicts a negative relationship between family size and child achievement. In the model, limits on borrowing create this "quality-quantity trade-off." This article tests for the relevance of credit constraints using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data to compare family size effects across groups defined by bequest receipt. Contrary to the credit constraints explanation, those receiving large bequests exhibit large family size effects, while those not receiving bequests show little to no effect . ( JEL J13, D1, I2)     

Gender,Sibship Structure,and Educational Inequality in Taiwan: Son Preference Revisited

This study examines how sibship characteristics affect educational attainment in Taiwan. Using a multilevel analysis of a sibling sample of 12,715 observations from 3,001 families drawn from a national survey, we investigate the effects of family size, sibship density, birth‐order rank, and sibship gender composition. The results support the argument that the effect of son preference on intrafamily educational inequality is conditional on family resources. We also find, however, that male firstborns, who are the ultimate inheritors of paternal authority in Chinese families, have additional leverage in the sibling competition for family resources. The privilege for firstborns does not extend to daughters. Therefore, we argue that culturally defined norms regarding seniority and gender help shape intrafamily resource allocation in Chinese society.     

Replicating family size: does living in a single parent family matter?

"This paper examines how living in a single parent family affects intergenerational marriage patterns regarding preferred family size. Data collected from 1,300 college students at a large midwestern [U.S.] university provide further evidence of a positive relationship between number of siblings in one's family of origin and preferred marital family size. However, this relationship does not hold for all groups. Factors affecting preferred family size differ for males and females from intact and nonintact family structures. The positive relationship between size of family of orientation and family of procreation holds only for individuals from intact homes."     

DO SNAP WORK REQUIREMENTS WORK?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act waived work requirements nationally in 2010 and broadened waiver eligibility in subsequent years for Able‐Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWDs) receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. From 2011 to 2017, many states voluntarily imposed work requirements, while other areas became ineligible for waivers because of improved economic conditions. Using data from the American Community Survey from 2010 to 2017, I analyze the influence of work requirements on employment and SNAP participation for ABAWDs. I find that work requirements increased employment for ABAWDs and also significantly decreased SNAP participation.(JEL J21, J68, H42)     

Medicaid Funding for Assisted Living Care: A Five-State Examination

Medicaid waiver programs financing assisted living care are examined in five states to gain insights about program implementation, accomplishments, and challenges. Documents, augmented with stakeholder interviews, are used to describe income eligibility, options for supplementing payments to facilities, risk adjustment payment levels, and participation. Needs determination and waiver-based payments are in place. Eligibility and funding levels are complicated by room and board allocations that are linked to the federal benefit rate for Supplemental Security Income. Provider participation may be diminishing. Many recipients have to accept shared occupancy as program payments are insufficient for single units.     

The Impact of Social Capital on Men's Mental Health from the Perspective of Social Support Theory

This study examines the effects of social capital as it affects men's mental health in the context of work–family balance. Multivariate analyses of data from National Family Research of Japan 2008 have revealed the following. First, the social capital that men receive from their spouses was found to have a direct effect on their distress. The effect of social capital from family other than a spouse does not have a direct effect on men's mental health. Second, only social capital from a spouse was observed to provide a buffering effect. This result implies that, in contemporary Japan, social capital derived from the spouse functions satisfactorily as a bulwark to mitigate the negative effects that the experience of role conflict between work and family has on men's mental health. Finally, the study examines the effect of social capital with reference to social support theory. Subsequent research might usefully focus on varieties of social capital other than those covered in the current study, which will leverage the unique potential of social capital by examining techniques and units of analysis.     

Free tuition for elders: intentions and effects of the Massachusetts policy

This analysis explores the development of the elder tuition waiver in Massachusetts, a policy that established an age-based entitlement to higher education. The research concludes that the original purpose of the waiver was to encourage participation, but that there was no expectation that large numbers of older adults would take advantage of this benefit. Nor, apparently, did advocates of the waiver seek to assure that a diverse group of older adults would take advantage of higher education opportunities through the waiver. A review of the history of the waiver is linked with data on implementation and the results of an exploratory study of motivations of older college students. The discussion points to a need for fundamental examination of the practice of providing social benefits based on age rather than need or universal criteria.     

A cross-sectional audit of student health insurance waiver forms: an assessment of reliability and compliance

To assess the reliability of using a waiver process to ensure compliance with health insurance requirements established by a university, the author conducted a cross-sectional verification and compliance audit of insurance waiver forms received for the 1999/2000 academic year. This study revealed that a waiver form process could not be relied upon to enforce compliance.     

The Effects of Family Structure of Origin on Offspring Cohabitation Duration

This study uses data from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the effects of family structure of origin on offspring's cohabiting unions. Parental divorce substantially decreases the likelihood that these relationships end in marriage, but this effect is almost completely ameliorated by parental remarriage. Parental divorce also increases the chances that a cohabiting relationship will break up, but the effect is much smaller than the impact of parental divorce on marital stability. I explain this discrepancy by showing that cohabitation is inherently unstable compared to marriage. In a context of instability, family structure of origin makes less difference than it does in marriage.     

A cross-national analysis of family and household structure

"Profound demographic change has taken place in the past few decades in many countries including decreases in fertility and household size, and increases in divorce and non-traditional living arrangements. This paper analyzes the cross-national variation in these trends by utilizing two data sets. Fertility, marriage/divorce and household structure are modeled as separate domains of family life and tested in a LISREL model. The correlations across these domains are examined along with indicators of socioeconomic development and cultural context. Findings indicate that the level of economic development has direct and negative associations with all three family domains. Culture has an independent effect on family demographics but it does not override the forces of development."     

The effect of welfare on the family size of single female household heads

"The effect of welfare on family size is estimated by means of an ordered probit analysis on single female household heads. A multiyear cross-sectional pooled data set derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey over the period 1979 to 1990 is analyzed. Behavioral impacts from a range of economic variables are consistent in sign with theoretical predictions, and are of reasonable magnitudes. A $1,000 increase in the amount of welfare per child can be expected to increase family size by 6.7 percent for single female-headed households."     

Increasing College Access and Retention Rates of Youth in Foster Care: An Analysis of the Impact of 22 State Tuition Waiver Programs

Youth in foster care face educational disparities in terms of college access, retention, and graduation. To address this, 22 states have implemented tuition waiver programs targeting current and former foster youth. A comparative analysis was conducted of all 22 programs implemented since 2014. Similarities include student eligibility based on youth’s age upon foster care entry, university admission and time in care requirements. Differences include type of expenses covered, time limits on use, program oversight, and funding availability. No differences were found based on political party control, gubernatorial power, and state population composition. Recommendations for policy and practice reform are offered.     

Immigrants’ TANF Eligibility, 1996–2003: What Explains the New Across‐State Inequalities?1

Why did some states adopt stringent TANF‐eligibility policies toward immigrants, while others implemented more lenient rules throughout the post‐1996 welfare reform period? We use immigrant‐specific welfare rule measures to examine predominant theoretical frameworks for understanding state stringency in welfare policy. Analysis, utilizing a simultaneous equations modeling (SEM) strategy, uses annual data for all states. Results show consistent support for the median voter (primarily, the percent of liberal voters) theoretical explanation for less stringent state welfare eligibility rules regarding immigrants. While the size of the Social‐Security‐recipient population (tax capacity indicator) and perhaps unacceptable reproductive behavior (teen birth rate) relate to more stringent rules, key state economic and fiscal characteristics (i.e., per capita welfare expenditures, per capita personal income) explain less stringent TANF eligibility rules. Importantly, recent immigrant population concentration patterns (in new and traditional destination states) add to the theoretical explanation of less stringent state TANF immigrant eligibility policies.     

Free Tuition for Elders

This analysis explores the development of the elder tuition waiver in Massachusetts, a policy that established an age-based entitlement to higher education. The research concludes that the original purpose of the waiver was to encourage participation, but that there was no expectation that large numbers of older adults would take advantage of this benefit. Nor, apparently, did advocates of the waiver seek to assure that a diverse group of older adults would take advantage of higher education opportunities through the waiver. A review of the history of the waiver is linked with data on implementation and the results of an exploratory study of motivations of older college students. The discussion points to a need for fundamental examination of the practice of provtding social benefits based on age rather than need or universal criteria.     

On the Average Minimum Size of a Manipulating Coalition

We study the asymptotic average minimum manipulating coalition size as a characteristic of quality of a voting rule and show its serious drawback. We suggest using the asymptotic average threshold coalition size instead. We prove that, in large electorates, the asymptotic average threshold coalition size is maximised among all scoring rules by the Borda rule when the number m of alternatives is 3 or 4, and by -approval voting when m ≥ 5.