Safety Net Use
Leaders: Mark Duggan, Hilary Hoynes, Karen Jusko
The Safety Net RG is devoted to monitoring changes in government transfers and anti-poverty programs and assessing whether they are meeting the needs of the poor. The U.S. safety net is undergoing such changes as (a) an ongoing decline in TANF cash benefits, (b) rapid increases in spending on EITC, Medicaid, Disability Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, and SNAP, and (c) a dramatic shift toward spending that favors the “working poor” over the more destitute. The CPI affiliates working within this research group are monitoring these changes, examining their implications for poverty, assessing the effectiveness of key government and nongovernment programs in reducing poverty, and modeling the costs and benefits of possible changes in policy and programs. We’ve provided a sampling here of some of this ongoing research.
Poverty Relief Project: With Kate Weisshaar, Karen Jusko uses the poverty relief ratio to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs over time, across states, and across countries. Which state is the least effective in fighting poverty? Has the U.S. become more or less effective over time? These and other questions are answered in our latest State of the Union reports.
Long-run effects of SNAP: Have we underestimated the returns to SNAP by ignoring the long-run effects on children exposed to it in their early childhood? It’s now possible to find out.
California Welfare Laboratory: The poverty rate in California, when measured with the Supplemental Poverty Measure, is the highest in the country. What can be done to bring that rate down? The mission of the California Welfare Laboratory is to make research on California’s welfare programs accessible to all and thus facilitate an informed discussion of what is working and what needs to be improved.
Differential EITC effects: It is often argued that early interventions have especially high payoffs. Are the returns to the EITC indeed larger when it goes to parents with young children?
Disability and poverty: Does the federal government’s disability program reduce labor supply? Although it’s long been difficult to identify a causal effect, Mark Duggan has now found a way.
The effects of TANF: The TANF program is very decentralized and thus takes on dramatically different forms. How can we exploit that variability to find out what’s working?
Featured Examples
Safety Net - CPI Research
Title | Author | Media | |
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Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the Americans with Disabilities Act | Daron Acemoglu and Joshua D. Angrist |
Consequences of Employment Protection? The Case of the Americans with Disabilities ActAuthor: Daron Acemoglu and Joshua D. AngristPublisher: Date: |
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Policy Watch: U.S. Disability Policy in a Changing Environment | Richard V. Burkhauser and Mary C. Daly |
Policy Watch: U.S. Disability Policy in a Changing EnvironmentAuthor: Richard V. Burkhauser and Mary C. DalyPublisher: Date: |
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Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development | Janet Currie |
Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital DevelopmentAuthor: Janet CurriePublisher: National Bureau of Economic Research Date: |
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The Labor Market Effects of Rising Health Insurance Premiums | Baicker, Katherine and Amitabh Chandra |
The Labor Market Effects of Rising Health Insurance PremiumsAuthor: Baicker, Katherine and Amitabh ChandraPublisher: Journal of Labor Economics Date: |
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The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity | Michael Marmot |
The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and LongevityAuthor: Michael MarmotPublisher: Times Books Date: |
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safety net - CPI Affiliates
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Markus Gangl |
Professor of Sociology |
Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main |
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Marta Tienda |
Professor, Maurice P. During '22 Professor in Demographic Studies; Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs; Director, Program in Latino Studies |
Princeton University |
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Patrick Heuveline |
Professor, Sociology |
University of California, Los Angeles |
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Peter J. Hammond |
Professor of Economics, University of Warwick; Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Stanford University |
University of Warwick |
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Phillip Levine |
William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Economics; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research; Research Affiliate, National Poverty Center |
Wellesley College |
Pages
Safety Net - Other Research
Title | Author | Media | |
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Falling from Grace | Katherine S. Newman | ||
Bad jobs in America : Standard and nonstandard employment relations and job quality in the United States | Arne L. Kalleberg, Barbara F. Reskin and Ken... |
Bad jobs in America : Standard and nonstandard employment relations and job quality in the United StatesAuthor: Arne L. Kalleberg, Barbara F. Reskin and Ken...Publisher: American Sociological Review Date: |
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The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender Inequality | Jerry A. Jacobs and Kathleen Gerson |
The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender InequalityAuthor: Jerry A. Jacobs and Kathleen GersonPublisher: Harvard University Press Date: |
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Nickel-and-Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America | Barbara Ehrenreich |
Nickel-and-Dimed: On (not) Getting by in AmericaAuthor: Barbara EhrenreichPublisher: Macmillan Date: |
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Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs | Paul Willis |
Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class JobsAuthor: Paul WillisPublisher: Columbia University Press Date: |
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Safety Net - Multimedia
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