Welfare reform, time limits, and infant health

Leonard, Jonathan S.; Mas, Alexandre

doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2008.05.013

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Interestingly, higher unemployment is linked to declines in infant mortality, with these effects partly driven by selection into who gives birth (Dehejia and Lleras-Muney 2004). In addition, infant mortality has been linked to a variety of social assistance policies, including Medicaid (Currie and Gruber 1996), cash transfer programs (Leonard and Mas 2008) and food assistance programs (Almond, Hoynes, and Schanzenbach 2011; Hoynes, Page, and Stevens 2011). Numerous studies have also linked infant mortality to pollution in the environment (Chay and Greenstone 2003; Chay and Greenstone 2005; Currie and Neidell 2005; Currie, Neidell, and Schmieder 2009; Currie and Schmieder 2009; Currie, Greenstone, and Morretti 2011; Currie and Walker 2011).…”

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial and ethnic infant mortality gaps and the role of socio-economic status

2016

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We assess the extent to which differences in socio-economic status are associated with racial and ethnic gaps in a fundamental measure of population health: the rate at which infants die. Using micro-level Vital Statistics data from 2000 to 2004, we examine mortality gaps of infants born to white, black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Asian, and Native American mothers. We find that between-group mortality gaps are strongly and consistently (except for Mexican infants) associated with maternal marital status, education, and age, and that these same characteristics are powerful predictors of income and poverty for new mothers in U.S. Census data. Despite these similarities, we document a fundamental difference in the mortality gap for the three high mortality groups: whereas the black-white and Puerto Rican-white mortality gaps mainly occur at low birth weights, the Native American-white gap occurs almost exclusively at higher birth weights. We further examine the one group whose IMR is anomalous compared to the other groups: infants of Mexican mothers die at relatively low rates given their socio-economic disadvantage. We find that this anomaly is driven by lower infant mortality among foreign-born mothers, a pattern found within many racial/ethnic groups. Overall, we conclude that the infant mortality gaps for our six racial/ethnic groups exhibit many commonalities, and these commonalities suggest a prominent role for socio-economic differences.

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Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial and ethnic infant mortality gaps and the role of socio-economic status

2016

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“…They argue that their results are inconclusive and do not suggest that welfare reform policies have a uniform, strong effect on the aspects of parenting behavior and child well-being. Leonard and Mas (2008), on the other hand, showed that infant mortality rates increased in states with shorter lifetime limits. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data covering 1995-2002 and a linear probability model, they found that this effect was larger for Blacks than for Whites.…”

Section: Previous Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies investigating the change in children's health status after welfare reform are rare. Exceptions are those of Leonard and Mas (2008) and Dunifon et al (2006). Leonard and Mas found that states that imposed shorter time limits on being in welfare had higher infant mortality rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare Reform and Children's Health

Baltagi

Yen

2014

Health Economics

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E SIZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. Our results show that these policies also had a significant effect on various measures of children's medical utilization among low-income families. These health measures include a rating of the child's health status reported by the parents; the number of times that parents consulted a doctor; and the number of nights that the child stayed in a hospital. We compare the overall changes of health status and medical utilization for children with working and nonworking mothers. We find that the child's health status as reported by the parents is affected by the maternal employment status.JEL Classification: I1, I3

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“…Overall, the transition has made TANF less effective than AFDC was at lifting individuals out of poverty [15] . Furthermore, Leonard and Mas [16] find that more stringent TANF programs, in the form of shorter time limits for receiving benefits compared to the 60-month federal limit, contributed to a deterioration in infant health and significant increases in infant mortality. Although eligibility standards vary, most states provide TANF benefits to needy families, if that family includes a minor child or a pregnant woman [17] .…”

Section: Government Programs and Their Relation To Infant Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of social assistance programs on infant health

Swanson

Chavez

2020

Soc Work Soc Welf

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Policymakers have been debating the value of social assistance programs, specifically whether they create a dependence resulting in unnecessary waste. We examine the impact of targeted social assistance programs on infant health, while also accounting for variations in sociodemographic and economic factors across the nation. Using information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), we combine information on infant health with data on state social assistance programs taken mostly from the University of Kentucky's Center for Poverty Research between the years 1998 and 2015 for all US states. We find that an increase in TANF and SNAP generosity within a state is associated with an improvement in infant health. Our findings demonstrate the need for a social safety net to help the less fortunate and keep a productive society healthy.

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Welfare reform, time limits, and infant health

Cited by 34 publications

References 37 publications

Racial and ethnic infant mortality gaps and the role of socio-economic status

Racial and ethnic infant mortality gaps and the role of socio-economic status

Welfare Reform and Children's Health

An evaluation of social assistance programs on infant health

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