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The intergenerational effects of welfare transfers among single mothers: Evidence from an Israeli welfare reform

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  • Shanan, Yannay

Abstract

This paper examines the intergenerational effects of a welfare reform that increased welfare benefits generosity and eased eligibility requirements for single mothers in Israel. Using large-scale restricted administrative data and a difference-in-differences design, I find that the rise in single mothers’ welfare participation rates following the reform had a significant impact on their children’s long-term economic outcomes. Girls exposed to the reform in childhood were likelier to be on welfare themselves as young adults, while boys experienced a long-lasting increase in labor earnings. The results suggest that generous welfare programs can have beneficial consequences for boys growing up in single-parent households.

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  • Shanan, Yannay, 2024. "The intergenerational effects of welfare transfers among single mothers: Evidence from an Israeli welfare reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:237:y:2024:i:c:s0047272724001439
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105207
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational transmission; Welfare participation; Welfare reform; Single mothers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs

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