The Effect of Reducing Welfare Access on Employment, Health, and Children's Long-Run Outcomes

Jeffrey Hicks (), Gaëlle Simard-Duplain, David Green and William P. Warburton ()
Additional contact information
Jeffrey Hicks: University of Toronto
William P. Warburton: Enterprise Economic Consulting

No 16516, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Welfare caseloads in North America halved following reforms in the 1990s and 2000s. We study how this shift affected families by linking Canadian welfare records to tax returns, medical spending, educational attainment, and crime data. We find substantial and heterogeneous employment responses that increased average income despite reduced transfers. We find zero effects on aggregate health expenditures, but mothers saw reduced preventative care and increased mental health treatment, consistent with the transition to employment elevating time pressure and stress. We find no effect on teenagers' education and criminal charges as young adults but do find evidence of intergenerational welfare transmission.

Keywords: welfare; income; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 H31 I14 I24 I38 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 65 pages
Date: 2023-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hea, nep-lab and nep-pbe
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Related works:
Working Paper: The Effect of Reducing Welfare Access on Employment, Health, and Children's Long-Run Outcomes (2023)
Working Paper: The effect of reducing welfare access on employment, health, and children's long-run outcomes (2023)
Working Paper: The effect of reducing welfare access on employment, health, and children's long-run outcomes (2023)
Working Paper: The effect of reducing welfare access on employment, health, and children's long-run outcomes (2022)
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