Did Canadian welfare reform work? The effects of new reform strategies on social assistance participation

Nathan Berg and Todd Gabel

Canadian Journal of Economics, 2015, vol. 48, issue 2, 494-528

Abstract: This paper measures the extent to which declines in social assistance (SA) participation were associated with novel and aggressive reforms referred to as new reform strategies: work requirements, diversion, earning exemptions and time limits. Controlling for province-specific benefit levels, eligibility requirements, GDP growth, labour market conditions and demographics, SA participation rates were more than one percentage point lower (equivalent to a 13% decline) in provinces with new reforms. Work requirements with strong sanctions had the sharpest negative associations. New reform strategies explain at least 10% of observed declines in SA participation, twice that of benefit levels and eligibility requirements.

JEL-codes: H53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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