Working Paper: NBER ID: w29188
Authors: Jeehoon Han; Bruce D. Meyer; James X. Sullivan
Abstract: We investigate how material well-being has changed over time for single mother headed families—the primary group affected by welfare reform and other policy changes of the 1990s. We focus on consumption as well as other indicators including components of consumption, measures of housing quality, and health insurance coverage. The results provide strong evidence that the material circumstances of single mothers improved in the decades following welfare reform. The consumption of the most disadvantaged single mother headed families—those with low consumption or low education—rose noticeably over time and at a faster rate than for those in comparison groups.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D12; D31; I31; I32; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| welfare reforms (I38) | material wellbeing of single mother-headed families (I32) |
| 1996 welfare reform (I38) | consumption of single mothers (J12) |
| income changes (D31) | consumption of single mothers (J12) |
| policy changes (J18) | health insurance coverage for single mothers (I13) |
| welfare reforms (I38) | consumption for the most disadvantaged families (D12) |