Search Results
Title: Adolescents' School Enrollment and Employment: Effect of State Welfare Policies
Resulting in 1 citation.
| 1. |
Hao, Lingxin Cherlin, Andrew J. Astone, Nan Marie |
|
Adolescents' School Enrollment and Employment: Effect of State Welfare Policies Working Paper, Labor Market and Employment, Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University, June 2001. Also: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/jcpr/workingpapers/wpfiles/Hao_Astone_Cherlin.pdf Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Joint Center for Poverty Research Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Drug Use; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Family Income; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; Geocoded Data; High School Dropouts; Human Capital; Labor Market Demographics; Life Course; Neighborhood Effects; Program Participation/Evaluation; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Transition, Welfare to Work; Welfare Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. This study hypothesizes that stringent state welfare policies may promote enrollment and reduce employment through four mechanisms taking place in the larger society, the local labor market and the family, particularly for adolescents from low-income families. We conduct a rigorous and robust analysis using a dynamic model and separating out the welfare policies from nonwelfare state policies, youth-specific state labor market conditions, and unobserved state characteristics and period effects. Using longitudinal data from the NLSY97, we have tested the welfare policy effects over a period across welfare waivers and welfare reform (1994-1999) for adolescents aged 14-18. We find that welfare reform may change the behavior of teenage students by encouraging full engagement in schooling and reducing employment while in school. If focusing entirely on schooling is the best way for low-income youth to build human capital, these possible effects of welfare reform could be beneficial. However, if low-income youth obtain "soft skills" from a formal job and if "soft skills" turn out to be decisive for low-income youth's economic future, these welfare policy effects could be harmful. In addition, stringent state welfare policies appear to have a detrimental effect on teenage dropouts from low-income families. |
|
|
Bibliography Citation
Hao, Lingxin, Andrew J. Cherlin and Nan Marie Astone. "Adolescents' School Enrollment and Employment: Effect of State Welfare Policies." Working Paper, Labor Market and Employment, Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University, June 2001. |