Assessing welfare reform data: a comment on christopher |
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Authors: | Robert Cherry |
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Affiliation: | Department of Economics , Brooklyn College , 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11210-2889, USA E-mail: robertc@brooklyn.cuny.edu |
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Abstract: | Abstract This paper responds to Karen Christopher's recent Feminist Economics paper that posits that welfare leavers did not benefit much financially during the Clinton-era economic boom. On the contrary, this paper finds that child poverty rates declined dramatically as did material hardships while the situation worsened for only a very small share of mothers. These benefits came as a result of welfare reform rather than simply an outgrowth of the booming economy that enabled a greater share of welfare leavers to find employment and gain sizeable transfer payments compared to the pre-reform time period. |
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Keywords: | Family policy income support welfare reform JEL Codes: I38, I3, I |
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