Investing in Children: What do we know? What should we do?

In 1998, a conference brought together US psychologists, economists, sociologists, demographers, political scientists, social workers, and medical doctors, to review what we know about the processes that affect child development and how we might wisely increase public and private investments in children to promote both their well-being and the productivity of the next generation. Current investments in children were examined and how they affect the development of the skills children need to succeed as adults in work, family, and society was discussed. What we have learned about childhood interventions from birth to college and what further investments in children are required, especially for disadvantaged children was reviewed. This paper summarises the findings of the conference, and we outline our views regarding a number of key investments. We conclude that there is no better way to break the cycle of poverty and inequality than to invest in children. Expanded investment in five key areas is proposed: programmes to improve the health of women of childbearing age; early childhood interventions, targeted to the most disadvantaged children; measures to raise the quality of child care and pre-school education; after-school and mentoring programmes; and programmes to raise the level of college attendance by high-ability youth from low-income families.Child development, childhood interventions, childcare, education

Obesity as a Barrier to the Transition from Welfare to Work

This paper utilizes a rich longitudinal data set -- the Women's Employment Study (WES) to investigate whether obesity, which is common among women of low socioeconomic status, is a barrier to employment and earnings for current and former welfare recipients. We find evidence that, among current and former welfare recipients, high body weight is a greater barrier to labor market success for white women than for African-American women. Among white women, we consistently find a negative correlation between weight and labor market outcomes such as employment, hours worked, and earnings. Among African American women, weight is not correlated with employment, hours worked, or earnings, but it is correlated with the percentage of months spent on welfare between interviews. We provide suggestive evidence that these differences between white and African-American women in the relationship between body weight and labor market outcomes are partly due to differential weight-based discrimination in employment.

Welfare Reform and Lone Mothers Employment in the US

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 represents a dramatic change in the US welfare state. One of its key goals was to move lone mothers, even those with young children, from welfare to work. Early evidence suggests that, in concert with a strong economy, progress has been made - welfare caseloads have fallen dramatically and the employment rates of lone mothers have increased substantially. In addition to the federal reforms, state level welfare reforms played an important role prior to 1996 and are playing an even more important role subsequent to 1996 as PRWORA gives states unprecedented flexibility in designing and implementing their welfare systems. In this paper, we examine some key state-level reforms, using evidence from selected states, to illustrate the three major types of policies used in the US to move lone mothers from welfare to work: mandating work (Michigan); making work pay (Michigan and Minnesota); and helping families with child care (Illinois). We conclude that each of these policies has a role to play in moving lone mothers from welfare to work, but that further policies are needed if the US is to also to do a better job of reducing child poverty.welfare, lone mothers, employment

Economic Conditions and Welfare Reform

The relationship between welfare caseloads and the economy is one of the key issues addressed in this book. Using the most current data available, a group of the nation\u27s leading researchers examines the effects of welfare reform prior to and after enactment of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1189/thumbnail.jp

"The Changing Contributions of Men and Women to the Level and Distribution of Family Income, 1968-1988"

In the past twenty years, the labor force participation and earnings of women, especially married women, have risen dramatically. Over the same period, men's earnings have increased only modestly, and the distribution of family income has grown less equal. In this paper, we analyze the impact of changes in the level and distribution of earnings of men and women in the distribution of family income. We emphasize the contributions due to the increased work effort and real earnings of wives, as they account for a major portion of growth in family income over these two decades. Working wives have taken the place of economic growth as the factor that raises the standard of living of families across the entire income distribution. We analyze Current Population Survey data for white, black and Hispanic families in 1968, 1978, and 1988. Our results show that the primary factor contributing to rising income inequality was the increased inequality in the distribution of husbands' earnings. Wives' earnings both raised family income and lowered inequality.

Recalibrating the Balance: Reflections on Welfare Reform

During the 1992 presidential campaign, Candidate Clinton promised, in Putting People First, to make work pay and to end welfare as we know it : It\u27s time to honor and reward people who work hard and play by the rules. That means ending welfare as we know it not by punishing the poor or preaching to them, but by empowering Americans to take care of their children and improve their lives. No one who works full-time and has children at home should be poor anymore. No one who can work should beable to stay on welfare forever