Single Mothers and Their Children: Evaluating a Work-Encouraging Welfare Reform

Katrine Løken, Kjell Lommerud () and Katrine Holm Reiso ()
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Katrine Holm Reiso: Norwegian School of Economics

No 10219, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using rich administrative data from Norway, we evaluate a 1998 work-encouraging reform targeted at single parents. We especially focus on educational performance for children of the involved single mothers. For all children of single mothers, the effect on school grades at completion of junior high school at age 16 is near zero and insignificant. If one concentrates on younger single mothers, those most likely to be affected by the reform, the grade point average of their children drops significantly by 7% of a standard deviation. We isolate groups of mothers who are affected by the reform either primarily by having less time at home, or by reduced income. The children of both groups of mothers experience drops in school grades, so both reduced parental time and reduced income matter. The effect of reduced parental time, though, seems to be the more important.

Keywords: welfare reform; single mothers; child development; time and money investments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 I38 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2016-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-lab
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Related works:
Journal Article: Single mothers and their children: Evaluating a work-encouraging welfare reform (2018)
Working Paper: Single mothers and their children: Evaluating a work-encouraging welfare reform (2018)
Working Paper: Single Mothers and their children: Evaluating a work-encouraging welfare reform (2014)
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