1,797 research outputs found
A preliminary investigation of welfare migration induced by time limits
No full textStudies on welfare programs in the United States have identified three types of welfare migration (employment, benefit, and amenity-related). This paper introduces a fourth type of migration induced by welfare time limits. After a welfare-dependent family runs out of benefits, it is possible for them to reset the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families time clock by crossing state lines to extend their benefits. Our theoretical results suggest that the likelihood of migration increases if the migration distance is small or the gain from the move is large. We hypothesize that, ceteris paribus, families migrating in order to extend their benefits will minimize the distance they migrate, and will be likely to move into the nearest state, especially into counties just across the state border. We utilize macro data at the county level to look for evidence of time-limit induced migration. Estimates indicate that time limits may be associated with an increase in welfare migration.welfare reform; migration
Learning Macroeconomic Principles Using MAPLE
No full textEconomics has been dubbed the “dismal science” since Thomas Carlyle coined the phrase in 1849. The 2008 presidential candidate who said, “Economics is something that I’ve really never understood,” probably sides with this view. So, why is economics so dismal to so many? Is it because it has become too mathematical? Is it because traditional textbooks fail to connect topics and models in a concise, cohesive, and meaningful way? Is it because the computer simulations that are used to teach economic principles “stifle students’ imagination, contribute to a dependent learning style, and fail to stimulate interest in the subject matter” (Wetzstein 1988)? Or, is it because economists from different schools of economic thought rarely agree on anything? This book uses MAPLE and the simulation models that I developed in Learning Basic Macroeconomics (2014) to make teaching or learning economics more favorable. MAPLE is ideally suited for this because it allows users to assemble and systematically combine the various models that form the aggregate market model, frees users from doing tedious calculations and algebraic manipulations, and is as easy to use as Microsoft WORD. Building and analyzing the macroeconomic model using MAPLE is a fun way to learn the dismal science of economics
Was it the economy or reform that precipitated the steep decline in the US welfare caseload?
No full text
Learning Basic Macroeconomics A Policy Perspective from Different Schools of Thought
No full textEconomics has been dubbed the “dismal science” since Thomas Carlyle coined the phrase in 1849. The 2008 presidential candidate who said, “Economics is something that I’ve really never understood,” probably sides with this view. So, why is economics so dismal to so many? Is it because it has become too mathematical? Is it because traditional textbooks fail to connect topics and models in a concise, cohesive, and meaningful way? Is it because the computer simulations that are used to teach economic principles “stifle students’ imagination, contribute to a dependent learning style, and fail to stimulate interest in the subject matter” (Wetzstein 1988)? Or, is it because economists from different schools of economic thought rarely agree on anything? This book uses MAPLE and the simulation models that I developed in Learning Basic Macroeconomics (2014) to make teaching or learning economics more favorable. MAPLE is ideally suited for this because it allows users to assemble and systematically combine the various models that form the aggregate market model, frees users from doing tedious calculations and algebraic manipulations, and is as easy to use as Microsoft WORD. Building and analyzing the macroeconomic model using MAPLE is a fun way to learn the dismal science of economics
Accounting for peak shifting in traditional cost-benefit analysis
No full textWhen cost-benefit analysis fails to account for peak-shifting the benefits of road improvement options are miscalculated. Using theory from transportation economics, we derive a simple model that disaggregates the average daily equilibrium into peak, counter-peak, and off-peak equilibria. This paper demonstrates how accounting for peak-shifting improves the performance of cost-benefit analysis.Transportation Demand, Transportation Supply, Congestion, Cost/Benefit Analysis, Planning Policy
Analyzing Washington state's welfare program design, workfirst
No full textMuch debate in the early nineties centered on whether the federal entitlement program Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) reduced welfare dependency. Many contend that AFDC discouraged work, increased welfare dependency, and undermined the institution of family. Partly in response to these criticisms, welfare was reformed through the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. PRWORA modified the primary objectives of welfare by placing more emphasis on work experience accumulation and less on human capital accumulation. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was designed to meet this primary objective. Washington State’s TANF program, WorkFirst, utilizes a progressive system of programs (components) aimed at reducing welfare dependency through labor force participation. WorkFirst components have a variety of objectives including skills training, temporary subsidized employment, and mentoring. WorkFirst’s objective is to accumulate work experience of welfare recipients, thus making them more employable. More work experience should place upward pressure on wage rates, which then in turn reduces welfare dependency. We analyze the working decision as it is related to Washington State’s program design using a binary choice probit model. We find that welfare recipients who are enrolled in the later stage components of WorkFirst are more likely to find work and exit welfare than those that have only completed the initial components designed under WorkFirst. Cumulatively, WorkFirst seems to be an effective welfare program design
Analyzing Washington State\u27s Welfare Program Design, WorkFirst
No full textMuch debate in the early nineties centered on whether the federal entitlement program Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) reduced welfare dependency. Many contend that AFDC discouraged work, increased welfare dependency, and undermined the institution of family. Partly in response to these criticisms, welfare was reformed through the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. PRWORA modified the primary objectives of welfare by placing more emphasis on work experience accumulation and less on human capital accumulation. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was designed to meet this primary objective. Washington State’s TANF program, WorkFirst, utilizes a progressive system of programs (components) aimed at reducing welfare dependency through labor force participation.
WorkFirst components have a variety of objectives including skills training, temporary subsidized employment, and mentoring. WorkFirst’s objective is to accumulate work experience of welfare recipients, thus making them more employable. More work experience should place upward pressure on wage rates, which then in turn reduces welfare dependency. We analyze the working decision as it is related to Washington State’s program design using a binary choice probit model. We find that welfare recipients who are enrolled in the later stage components of WorkFirst are more likely to find work and exit welfare than those that have only completed the initial components designed under WorkFirst. Cumulatively, WorkFirst seems to be an effective welfare program design
The Design and Use of a Macroeconomics Simulation Using Maple software: A Pilot Study
No full textThe mathematical models used in intermediate macroeconomics have become increasingly more sophisticated and challenging for students to learn. This paper demonstrates how mathematics software, such as Maple, can be used to design a simulation as a pedagogical aid. The paper proceeds by developing a system of equations to model the economy, simulating the system with Maple, and illustrating the impacts of fiscal and monetary policy changes. A pilot test of the simulation was performed to see if higher levels of mathematical rigor could be introduced in a principles course. The results indicate that symbolic mathematics software can be an effective teaching and student learning tool
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