The Impact of Cash Transfers to Poor Mothers on Family Structure and Maternal Well-Being

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Aizer, Anna; Cho, Sungwoo; Eli, Shari; Lleras-muney, Adriana
• 署名单位: Brown University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; University of Toronto
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20210816
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 492-529
• 关键词: welfare-reform; UNITED-STATES; intergenerational mobility; unemployment benefits; fertility behavior; automated linking; income; marriage; childhood; PARTICIPATION

摘要

We use newly collected data for 16,000 women who applied for Mothers' Pensions , America's first welfare program , to investigate the effect of means -tested cash transfers on lifetime family structure and maternal well-being. In the short term , cash transfers delayed marriage and lowered geographic mobility. In the long run , transfers had no impact on the probability of remarriage , spouse quality , or fertility. Cash transfers did not affect women's well-being , measured by longevity and family income in 1940. Given the lack of significant negative behavioral impacts , the benefits of transfers appear to exceed costs if they have - even modest - positive impacts on children. ( JEL I31, I32, I38, J13, J16, N32, R23 )