 Welfare Reform's Chilling Effects on Noncitizens: Changes in Noncitizen Welfare Recipiency or Shifts in Citizenship Status?*Jennifer Van Hook Social Science Quarterly, 2003, vol. 84, issue 3, 613-631 Abstract: Objective. In the mid‐1990s, welfare usage declined disproportionately among noncitizens, prompting some policy analysts to argue that the 1996 Welfare Reform Act (PRWORA) had a “chilling” effect on welfare receipt among eligible non‐citizens. However, naturalization among noncitizen welfare recipients could account for the disproportionate decline. This article evaluates the role of naturalizations in producing the so‐called chilling effect. Methods. The research uses longitudinal data (the Survey of Program Dynamics) to decompose changes in citizen and noncitizen welfare receipt into parts due to shifts in citizenship status and shifts in welfare receipt. Results. A substantial portion of the relative decline in welfare usage among noncitizens can be explained by shifts in naturalization. Conclusions. A more cautious interpretation of results about the effects of welfare reform on immigrants is called for, particularly results of analyses that use cross‐sectional data and disaggregate the change in welfare receipt by citizenship status. Date: 2003 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:84:y:2003:i:3:p:613-631 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.