Welfare benefits and the duration of welfare spells: evidence from a natural experiment in Canada

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fortin, B; Lacroix, G; Drolet, S
• 署名单位: Laval University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(02)00177-9
• 发表日期: 2004
• 页码: 1495-1520
• 关键词: welfare dynamics; natural experiment

摘要

This paper uses a major reform of the welfare program implemented in the Province of Quebec (Canada) in 1989 to analyze the impact of benefits on the length of welfare spells. An important feature of this reform was the abolishment of discrimination based on age that applied to benefits. As a result, the monthly benefits of single individuals aged less than 30 increased from $173 to $425 ($1986), an increase of over 145%. To assess the impact of the reform, we estimate a series of semi-parametric hazard models analogous to the regression approach to difference-in-differences estimation. The estimated duration elasticities with respect to benefits for single men and women aged 22-29 are 0.25 and 0.28, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.