The Effects of Welfare‐to‐Work Program Activities on Labor Market Outcomes

Authors:
  • ADAndrew Dyke
    Andrew Dyke
  • CHCarolyn J. Heinrich
    Carolyn J. Heinrich
  • PMPeter R. Mueser
    Peter R. Mueser
  • KTKenneth R. Troske
    Kenneth R. Troske
  • KJKyung‐Seong Jeon
    Kyung‐Seong Jeon
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Abstract
In this paper, we use administrative data on welfare recipients in the states of Missouri and North Carolina to obtain separate estimates of the effects of participatingin sub-programs of each state's welfare-to-work program. Our data consist of all women,who enter welfare between 1997:2 and 1999:4. We follow recipients for sixteen quarters after they enter welfare and model their quarterly earnings as a function of demographic characteristics,prior welfare and work experience, and the specific types of welfare-to-work programs in which they participate. We also control for individual heterogeneity as well as for nonrandom,assignment of individuals into sub-programs. We focus primarily on three types of subprograms: assessment, job readiness and job search assistance, and more intensive programs designed to augment human capital skills. Our analysis uses a variety of methods, including OLS and matching methods, allowing us to compare,how common,assumptions influence results. See recent reviews of this literature by Leahy (2001) and Barnow and Gubits (2002).

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