Wage level and its determinants for AFDC leavers: a case study of the US state of Missouri

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the wage level of AFDC recipients after they had left AFDC. Consistent with previous studies, I find that the wage level of AFDC recipients in Missouri was too low to escape poverty, despite their wages having increased after AFDC. In addition, this paper examines recipients' socioeconomic characteristics as determinants of their wage level. The findings show that wage level is positively associated with higher education, living in a metro-area, positive earning experience, a smaller number of children, and the oldest age of children.