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Description & Citation--Study No. 1294

Bibliographic Description

ICPSR Study No.:1294
 
Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR01294
 
Title:Reassessing the "Race to the Bottom" in State Welfare Policy
 
Principal Investigator(s):William D. Berry, Florida State University
 
  Richard C. Fording, University of Kentucky
 
  Russell L. Hanson, Indiana University
 
Funding Agency:National Science Foundation
 

Scope of Study

Summary:On the assumption that poor people migrate to obtain better welfare benefits, the magnet hypothesis predicts that a state's poverty rate increases when its welfare benefit rises faster than benefits in surrounding states. The benefit competition hypothesis proposes that states lower welfare benefits to avoid attracting the poor from neighboring states. Previous investigations, which yield support for these propositions, suffer from weaknesses in model specification and methodology. We correct these deficiencies in a simultaneous equation model including a state's poverty rate and its benefit level for AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) as endogenous variables. We estimate the model using pooled annual data for the American states from 1960 to 1990, and find that a state's poverty rate does not jump significantly when its welfare payments outpace benefits in neighboring states. Neither is there any evidence of vigorous benefit competition among states. States respond to decreases in neighboring states.
 
Subject Term(s):poverty, public assistance programs, states (USA), welfare services
 
Geographic Coverage:United States
 
Data Collection Notes:(1) The files submitted are read_me_first.pdf (documentation for the replication dataset), BFH_JOP.dta (a Stata 8.0 dataset containing all data necessary to replicate the results reported in the article), and BFH_JOP_unpublished_supplement.pdf, an unpublished supplement described in the text of the article. (2) These data are part of ICPSR's Publication-Related Archive and are distributed exactly as they arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.
 

Methodology

Access and Availability

Note:A list of the data formats available for this study can be found in the summary of holdings. Detailed file-level information (such as record length, case count, and variable count) is listed in the file manifest.
 
Original ICPSR Release:2004-02-24
 
Dataset(s):
  • DS1: Reassessing the "Race to the Bottom" in State Welfare Policy
 

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