Social Assistance and the Employment Rate of Lone Mothers: An Analysis of Ontario's Live Experiment

Kapsalis, Constantine (1999): Social Assistance and the Employment Rate of Lone Mothers: An Analysis of Ontario's Live Experiment. Published in: Women and Work, John Deutch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy, Queen's University (1999)

Abstract

The results of this study largely confirm the results of the author's previous study (Kapsalis, 1996). In fact, one of the two regression models estimated here produced an identical coefficient for the effect of social assistance benefits on the employment rate of lone mothers -- i.e. each $1,000 of an increase in social assistance benefit rates (expressed in 1995 dollars) was found to lead to 1.9 percentage point decline in the employment rate of lone mothers with young children.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: social assistance; welfare; lone mothers
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

References

Allen, Douglas (1993) “Welfare and the Family: The Canadian Experience.” Journal of Labour Economics 11 (1): S201-223.

Ashenfelter, O. (1983) “Determining Participation in Income Tested Social Programs.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 78, pp. 517-25.

Brown, David (1995) “Welfare Caseload Trends in Canada” in Helping the Poor -- A Qualified Case for 'Workfare' edited by John Richards and William G. Watson, C.D. Howe Institute, The Social Policy Challenge No. 5, pp. 37-81.

Human Resource Development Canada (1994) Improving Social Security in Canada: A Discussion Paper. Ottawa.

Charette, Michael and Ronald Meng (1994) “The Determinants of welfare participation of female heads of household in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Economics, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, pp. 290-306.

Dooley, Martin (1994-a) “Women, Children and Poverty in Canada.” Canadian Public Policy, Volume XX, 4, pp. 430-443. Dooley, Martin (1994-b) “The Converging Market Work Patterns of Married Mothers and Lone Mothers in Canada,” Journal of Human Resources, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 600-620.

Dooley, Martin (1995) “Lone Mother Families and Social Assistance Policy in Canada" in Family Matters -- New Policies for Divorce, Lone Mothers, and Child Poverty, C.D. Howe Institute Family, The Social Policy Challenge, No. 8.

Grady, Patrick (1995) “Income Security Reform and the Concept of a Guaranteed Annual Income” in Redefining Social Security, Queen's University, Research Series.

Kapsalis, Constantine (1996) Social Assistance Benefit Rates and the Employment Rate of Lone Mothers, Applied Research, Human Resources Development Canada, Working Paper W-96-5E.

National Council of Welfare (1986, 1989-96), Welfare Incomes. Ottawa: The Council.

Richards, John (1995) “The Study in Brief” in Helping the Poor -- A Qualified Case for 'Workfare' edited by John Richards and William G. Watson, C.D. Howe Institute, The Social Policy Challenge No. 5, pp. ix-xxvii.

Sarlo, Christopher A. (1992) Poverty in Canada. Vancouver, B.C.: Fraser Institute.

Sarlo, Christopher A. (1996) Poverty in Canada. Vancouver, B.C.: Fraser Institute.