Welfare and the Well-Being of Children (Fundamentals of Pure and Applied Economics)

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Introduction to the Series......Page 10
Welfare and the Well-Being of Children......Page 12
INTRODUCTION......Page 14
Part 1: An Overview of Methods, Measures and Programs......Page 16
1. METHODS FOR EVALUATING WELFARE PROGRAMS......Page 18
A. Experiments......Page 19
B. Instrumental Variables, ‘Natural Experiments’, and Selection Corrections......Page 21
C. Fixed Effects and Random Effects Models......Page 26
D. Summary......Page 27
(i) Mortality......Page 30
ii) Birthweight......Page 34
iii) Anthropometrics and Nutritional Status......Page 36
iv) Illnesses......Page 39
v) Preventive Care......Page 40
vi) Activity Limitations......Page 41
B. Test Scores and Scholastic Achievement......Page 42
C. Long-Run Measures of Social Competency......Page 44
D. Other Measures......Page 45
A. An Overview of Spending on Programs that Benefit Children.12......Page 46
i) AFDC......Page 47
iii) Medicaid and Child Health......Page 49
iv) Housing Assistance......Page 52
v) School Lunch, WIC, and Other Child Nutrition Programs19......Page 53
vi) Head Start......Page 55
vii) Tax Credits......Page 56
B. Trends in Caseloads and Expenditures......Page 57
i) Definition of Poverty......Page 60
II) The Anti-Poverty Effectiveness of Welfare Programs......Page 62
D. Spending on Children Compared to Spending on the Elderly......Page 65
E. Summary......Page 68
Part 2: Evaluation of Individual Programs......Page 70
A. Effects of AFDC on Young Children......Page 72
B. Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty and Welfare Dependency......Page 77
II) Intergenerational Transmission of AFDC Participation......Page 78
C. AFDC Effects on Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing......Page 84
D. Summary......Page 85
5. MEDICAID......Page 86
A. Insurance Coverage and Utilization of Care......Page 87
i) The Effects of Medicaid......Page 88
ii) Explaining Racial Differences In Patterns of Utilization......Page 90
iii) The Effects of Medicaid Expansions......Page 91
C. Summary......Page 94
i) Nutrient Availability......Page 96
ii) Individual Nutrient Intakes......Page 98
iii) Reconciling Studies of Household Nutrient Availability with Studies of Individual Intakes......Page 99
i) Marginal Propensities to Consume Out of FSP and Cash Income......Page 100
II) Evidence from Food Stamp ‘Cashouts’......Page 102
C. Summary......Page 103
7. WIC AND SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAMS......Page 104
i) Effects on Infant Health and Medicaid Costs......Page 110
ii) WIC and Nutrition......Page 112
i) Effects on Nutrition......Page 114
iii) Participation and Family Food Expenditures......Page 115
C. Other Child Nutrition Programs......Page 116
D. Summary......Page 117
A. Short-term Effects of Head Start......Page 118
ii) Effects on Vocabulary......Page 124
iii) Effects on Schooling Attainment......Page 125
ii) Differences by Race and Ethnicity......Page 127
D. Summary......Page 129
i) Severely and Moderately Deficient Housing......Page 130
ii) Unaffordable Housing......Page 131
B. The Effects of Neighborhoods......Page 132
i) The Non-Experimental Evidence......Page 134
ii) The Gautreaux Program......Page 136
C. The Role of Housing Assistance Programs: The Construction of Public Housing Vs. Vouchers......Page 137
D. Summary......Page 139
i) How a NIT Works......Page 142
B. Effects of the NIT......Page 145
i) Effects on Family Stability......Page 146
ii) Effects on Health......Page 147
iv) Effects on Housing......Page 148
C. Summary......Page 149
CONCLUSIONS......Page 150
REFERENCES......Page 152
DATA APPENDIX......Page 166
Index......Page 186