Stigma in Welfare Programs

Pablo Celhay, Bruce D. Meyer () and Nikolas Mittag ()
Additional contact information
Bruce D. Meyer: University of Chicago
Nikolas Mittag: CERGE-EI

No 15431, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Stigma of welfare participation is important for policy and survey design, because it deters program take-up and increases misreporting. Stigma is also relevant to the literature on social image concerns, yet empirical evidence is scant because stigma is difficult to empirically identify. We use a novel approach to studying stigma by examining the relationship between program participation in a recipient's local network and underreporting program participation in surveys. We find a robust negative relationship and rule out explanations other than stigma. Stigma decreases when more peers engage in the stigmatized behavior and when such actions are less observable.

Keywords: welfare stigma; program participation; social networks; social image; peer effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D19 D85 D91 I38 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2022-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-soc and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Stigma in Welfare Programs (2022)
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