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Welfare Time Limits in the United States – Experiences with a New Welfare-to-Work Approach

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  • Wolfgang Ochel

Abstract

This paper reviews the evidence on welfare time limits in the United States. It primarily refers to experimental and econometric evaluations. Time limits affect welfare recipients both before and after their limits are reached. Time limits reduce welfare receipt and increase employment before recipients reach the limit, as recipients "hoard" their months of eligibility for future use. Once recipients begin to exhaust their benefit entitlements, welfare use falls sharply. A large proportion of time-limit leavers, however, continues to receive Food Stamps, Medicaid, etc. The impact on employment is mixed. Income effects change from positive to neutral in subsequent periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfgang Ochel, 2004. "Welfare Time Limits in the United States – Experiences with a New Welfare-to-Work Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 1210, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1210
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp1210.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rebecca M. Blank, 2001. "Declining caseloads/increased work: what can we conclude about the effects of welfare reform?," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Sep, pages 25-36.
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    5. Jeffrey Grogger, 2003. "The Effects of Time Limits, the EITC, and Other Policy Changes on Welfare Use, Work, and Income among Female-Headed Families," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(2), pages 394-408, May.
    6. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "What Mean Impacts Miss: Distributional Effects of Welfare Reform Experiments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(4), pages 988-1012, September.
    7. Jeffrey Grogger, 2004. "Time Limits and Welfare Use," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
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    10. Jeffrey Grogger & Charles Michalopoulos, 2003. "Welfare Dynamics under Time Limits," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 530-554, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hau Chyi, 2012. "The 1993 EITC expansion and low-skilled single mothers’ welfare use decision," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(13), pages 1717-1736, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sozialhilfe; Dauer; Vereinigte Staaten; Welfare payments; Duration; United States;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

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