Welfare Reform, Work Requirements, and Employment Barriers

45 Pages Posted: 30 Aug 2006 Last revised: 8 Aug 2022

See all articles by Ellen Meara

Ellen Meara

Harvard Medical School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Richard G. Frank

Harvard Medical School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: August 2006

Abstract

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act imposed work requirements on welfare recipients. Using 1999-2001 data from Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, we compared the labor market and welfare experience of women with four employment barriers: poor mental health, moderate to heavy drug and alcohol use, a child with a behavior problem, and a child under the age of 3. Women with poor mental health and drug and alcohol users were much less likely to move into work than other groups, and more likely to be sanctioned for noncompliance with welfare requirements in 2000-2001 as federal work participation requirements increased

Suggested Citation

Meara, Ellen and Frank, Richard G., Welfare Reform, Work Requirements, and Employment Barriers (August 2006). NBER Working Paper No. w12480, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=926059

Ellen Meara (Contact Author)

Harvard Medical School ( email )

Department of Health Care Policy
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-432-3537 (Phone)
617-432-0173 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Richard G. Frank

Harvard Medical School ( email )

Department of Health Care Policy
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-432-0178 (Phone)
617-432-1219 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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