The recent report produced by Vice President Gore's committee on government efficiency highlights the importance of streamlining government operations. But often there are trade-offs between administrative streamlining and accomplishing substantive program objectives. This article examines these...

Using findings from four demonstrations, we examine estimates of the effect on household food expenditures of converting food stamps into a cash transfer. We provide arguments for why the estimate produced by one of the demonstrations should be regarded as an outlier. The disparity in the...

Welfare reform in Iowa succeeded in getting welfare recipients into training and then into jobs. However, the reforms did not always succeed in raising family income and may have reduced it for some families. Furthermore, researchers noted negative impacts on some measures of family and child...