Working Paper: NBER ID: w29258
Authors: Lucie Schmidt; Lara Shores-Heppard; Tara Watson
Abstract: Single mothers are more likely to experience mental health problems and stress-related negative health behaviors, but a more generous safety net may improve these outcomes. We use a simulated safety net eligibility approach that accounts for interactions across safety net programs and relies on changing policies across states and time to identify causal effects of safety net generosity on psychological distress and risky behaviors of single mothers. Results suggest that a more generous safety net is protective of maternal mental health: a $1000 increase to the simulated potential combined cash and food benefit package reduces severe psychological distress by 8.4 percent. Breaking out effects by individual programs while still controlling for potential benefits from other programs, we find protective effects of tax credits, cash benefits provided by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and food benefits provided by Supplemental Nutritional Assistance, but no effects of Medicaid eligibility. The effects are primarily driven by single mothers with the lowest levels of education. We find no significant effects of generosity on daily smoking, but we find evidence that benefits reduce the likelihood of heavy drinking. Results suggest that government investments in resources available to low-income families are effective at improving well-being.
Keywords: safety net; maternal mental health; risky behaviors; single mothers; economic hardship
JEL Codes: I12; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Safety net generosity (D64) | Severe psychological distress (I31) |
| Safety net generosity (D64) | Daily smoking behaviors (I12) |
| Safety net generosity (D64) | Heavy drinking (L66) |
| Economic hardship reduction (H53) | Severe psychological distress (I31) |
| Safety net generosity (D64) | Government investments in resources for low-income families (H53) |