The Effect of Family Size on Incentive Effects of Welfare Transfers i Two-Parent Families : An Evaluation Using Experimental Data

Alisa C. Lewin (1, 2) , Eric Maurin (3, 4)

1 University of Haifa [Haifa]
2 University of Chicago
3 PJSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques
4 EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales

Family size is an important determinant of family well-being, and it is a good predictor of poverty. This study examines effects of waiving the 100-hour rule, by family size, and distinguishes between the "work-incentive effects" and the "eligibility effects" of the waiver. The 100-hour rule limits eligibility to aid to two-parent families in which the principal earner is unemployed or underemployed (works fewer than 100 hours per month). The study uses data from the Link-Up randomized experiment, conducted in California's Central Valley, from 1992 to 1994. The findings show that the eligibility effect of the waiver does not differ by family size, but the work-incentive effect does.

Mots clés: Welfare; Poverty; Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Welfare-to-work; Work incentives

Domaines: Economies et finances

Alisa C. Lewin, Eric Maurin. The Effect of Family Size on Incentive Effects of Welfare Transfers i Two-Parent Families : An Evaluation Using Experimental Data. Evaluation Review, 2005, 29 (6), pp.507-529. ⟨10.1177/0193841X05276444⟩. ⟨halshs-00754049⟩