WELFARE AND LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF LOW-WEALTH FAMILIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR LABOR SUPPLY

This paper examines the welfare and labor force participation of families potentially eligible for the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Higher wage rates and lower TANF benefits decrease the probability of welfare participation. For these families labor supply is moderately responsive to the wage.Labor and Human Capital,

BMI changes in Russian adults: the role of lifestyles and spousal relationships

BMI, Russia, lifestyle, Consumer/Household Economics, Health Economics and Policy,

Obesity and Labor Market Outcomes in Post-Soviet Russia

obesity, labor market outcomes, Russia, Consumer/Household Economics, Health Economics and Policy, Labor and Human Capital,

Changes of household consumption behavior during the transition from centrally-planned to market-oriented economy

Poland was the first country in Eastern Europe to re-establish a market economy. The new government introduced a number of economic reforms including elimination of the big state sector, which ended the state price control. As subsidies were withdrawn, incomes declined, prices rose rapidly and Polish living standards declined. Economic reforms also increased the availability of goods and changed the structure of consumption;This study focused on changes in household consumption behavior and welfare due to the transformation to a market economy in Poland 1987--92. The objectives of the study were to: (1) formulate a utility maximizing model of household\u27s decisions in the presence of quantity rationing, (2) estimate a complete demand system, (3) determine whether households are better- or worse-off after the transformation of the economy;The following was accomplished. First, a consistent model of consumption decision making under rationing was developed. Second, to provide a bench mark the AIDS model was fitted to pre-reform quarterly data from the Polish Household Budget Survey, ignoring rationing. Some of the compensated own-price demand elasticities had wrong signs or implausible magnitudes. Next, virtual prices, the price at which the consumer would voluntarily choose the ration level of a good, were derived for food and housing to implement the pre-reform AIDS model with rationing. The estimates from the virtual AIDS gave plausible values for price and income elasticities. Third, the AIDS model was fitted to post-reform quarterly household survey data to obtain price and income elasticities. Finally, the parameter estimates were used to calculate cost of living indices for 1987--92. The study showed a roughly 70 percent decline in welfare for households over the transition with the most affected group being a family with three children;Assessing the effects of new policies requires careful analysis of household consumption in transition economies. Using virtual prices rather than actual prices for the rationed goods reduced greatly (by a factor of 4) the size of the welfare loss over the transition. Incorporating the effects of consumer rationing can greatly improve the accuracy of welfare policy formulation

DEMAND FOR ENHANCED FOODS AND THE VALUE OF NUTRITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS OF FOOD: THE CASE OF MARGARINES

This paper evaluates consumer preferences and choice of nutritionally enhanced food products based on economic, geographic, ethnic and other socioeconomic characteristics. Household scanner data allow estimation of hedonic price function and a probit model on the choice of margarine that promotes good health. The empirical estimation established a positive value for nutritional enhancement.scanner data, hedonic approach, demand for healthy food, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

DO FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IMPROVE HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY?: RECENT EVIDENCE FROM THE UNITED STATES

Food assistance programs play an important role in meeting the basic needs of low income households. This paper examines the interaction among food stamps, labor force participation and food insecurity status of low-income households under different program design and economic conditions. A simultaneous equation model with three probit equations links the program, work force participation and outcome. Results based on the Survey of Program Dynamics data suggest that Food Stamp Program participation is more responsive to changes in the program benefits than to changes in unemployment rate or nonlabor income; food insecurity status is more responsive to changes in the food program benefit or unemployment rate, than to nonlabor income.food assistance, food security, hunger, and welfare programs, Food Security and Poverty,

Regional Welfare Programs and Labor Force Participation

Welfare program dependency and expenditures rise during recessions, while income tax revenues from working people fall. Thus, now that states are responsible for their own welfare programs, they need to know how responsive their citizens are to workplace and safety net opportunities. This paper investigates household welfare program and labor force participation behavior. A choice-theoretic model is developed and estimated for each of the four census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) using cross-sectional data on households, labor markets, and policies. We show that household responses to welfare program parameters do differ regionally. But we find that labor supply does not depend on welfare program participation or program payoffs. Furthermore, unlike under the previous welfare program, participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) does not significantly reduce household labor supply. The finding of significant differences across regions justifies the efficiency rationale for the devolution of authority to the states. We also discuss how states may be able to contain expenditures on welfare programs