Work and the Well-Being of Poor Families with Children

Andrea L. Ziegert; Dennis H. Sullivan

doi:10.5771/9781498556781

Summary

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title

This work assesses the possibilities and limitations of reducing poverty among families with children by increasing the work effort of the adults in those families. Following a historical review of family poverty since 1995, the authors present several policy simulations, including increased employment, a higher minimum wage, more generous tax credits, a child allowance, and reduced childcare or medical expenses. Specific policy proposals—including the proposals of the Biden Administration—are assessed using four criteria: reducing child poverty; equitable treatment of the poorest groups; promotion of self-sufficiency; and cost-effectiveness. The authors conclude that while no single policy is able to reduce family poverty by half while meeting the other criteria, several combinations of policies have the potential to do so.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-5677-4
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-5678-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 198
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. Contents No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. Acronyms No access
1. Measuring Poverty No access
2. Data No access
1. Changes in the Racial and Ethnic Composition of the United States No access
2. Changes in Educational Attainment No access
3. Changes in Family Formation and the Living Arrangements of Children No access
4. Our SPM Families No access
5. Conclusion No access
1. Declining Labor-Market Participation No access
2. Wages in Slow Motion: The Slow and Uneven Growth of Wages No access
3. A Note on the Great Recession No access
4. The Labor Market and the Poor No access
5. The Working Poor No access
6. Unemployment No access
7. Involuntary Part-Time Work No access
8. Low Wages/Earnings No access
9. Work and Wage Gaps: A Comparison of Non-Poor versus Poor Adults in SPM Families with Children No access
10. Understanding Poor SPM Parents Who Work and Who Do Not Work No access
11. Conclusion No access
1. Economics of Welfare Spending No access
2. A Brief History of US Social Safety Net Spending No access
3. SPM Families, Government Benefits, and Poverty No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Poverty Gaps No access
2. Policy Simulations No access
3. Conclusion No access
1. Specific Proposals That Focus on Work Gaps No access
2. Proposals for Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage No access
3. A Proposal for Enhancing the EITC No access
4. A Proposal for a Refundable Childcare Credit No access
5. Proposals for Child Allowances No access
6. A Policy Alternative to a Child Allowance: Expand Means-Tested Transfers No access
7. Comparative Cost-Effectiveness No access
8. Summarizing the Proposals No access
9. Alternative Policy Packages for Reducing Child Poverty by Half: The National Academies Report No access
10. Biden Administration Proposals No access
11. Conclusion: Tradeoffs No access
Conclusion No access Pages 163 - 168
Bibliography No access Pages 169 - 186
Index No access Pages 187 - 196
About the Authors No access Pages 197 - 198