This paper examines the extent to which welfare programs reduce the probability that vulnerable household are food insecure, where food insecurity occurs when the household experiences food deprivation because of financial resource constraints. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity...

This study hypothesizes that stringent state welfare policies may promote enrollment and reduce employment through four mechanisms taking place in the larger society, the local labor market and the family, particularly for adolescents from low-income families. We conduct a rigorous and robust...

In recent years, we have dramatically changed the character of programs that provide income and in-kind benefits to single mothers. These changes have had large effects on rates of employment and welfare receipt. Despite these changes, there has been little systematic evaluation of the...

Using both monthly aggregate county-level data and monthly individual-level data on welfare participation in California from 1985 to 1997, we show that welfare use patterns in rural and agricultural counties differ from those in urban counties. We also explain variation in welfare dynamics...

Both Congress and the Senate recently passed legislation increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 per hour. Proposals to increase the federal minimum wage have lately received popular support from the public and politicians from "both sides of the aisle." Nonetheless, the research...