Canadian lone mother employment rates, policy change and the US welfare reform literature

The article examines the rise in Canadian lone mother employment rates during the 1990s using data from the Canadian Labour Force Survey and methods borrowed from the United States welfare reform literature. Patterns of lone mother employment rate increases in Canada are found to be similar to those in the United States. Income support policies in both countries changed in similar directions and in both cases increased the incentive to work. Despite these parallel changes it appears that, unlike the United States, policy reforms account for only a small part of the rise in Canadian lone mother employment rates.