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Project Citation: 

Bitler, Marianne P., Gelbach, Jonah B., and Hoynes, Hilary W. Replication data for: What Mean Impacts Miss: Distributional Effects of Welfare Reform Experiments. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2006. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-12-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/E116239V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Labor supply theory predicts systematic heterogeneity in the impact of recent welfare reforms on earnings, transfers, and income. Yet most welfare reform research focuses on mean impacts. We investigate the importance of heterogeneity using randomassignment data from Connecticut’s Jobs First waiver, which features key elements of post-1996 welfare programs. Estimated quantile treatment effects exhibit the substantial heterogeneity predicted by labor supply theory. Thus mean impacts miss a great deal. Looking separately at samples of dropouts and other women does not improve the performance of mean impacts. We conclude that welfare reform’s effects are likely both more varied and more extensive than has been recognized. (JEL D31, I38, J31)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      D31 Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
      I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
      J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials


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