Brookings Papers on Economic Activity Publish date:September 22, 2010
             Author:Bitler, Marianne P.; Hoynes, Hilary W.
             The 1996 welfare reform led to sweeping changes to the central cash
             safety net program for families with children. Along with other changes,
             the reform imposed lifetime time limits for receipt of cash welfare,
             effectively ending its entitlement nature for these families. Despite
             dire predictions, previous research has shown that program caseloads
             declined and employment increased, with no detectible increase in poverty
             or worsening of child well-being. We reevaluate these results in light
             of the severe 2007-09 recession. In particular, we examine how welfare
             reform has altered the cyclical response of caseloads and family
             We find that use of food stamps and non-cash safety net program
             participation have become significantly more responsive to the economic
             cycle after welfare reform, rising more when unemployment increases.
             By contrast, we find no evidence that cash welfare for families with
             children is more responsive, and some evidence that it might be less so.
             We find some evidence that poverty increases more with increases in the
             unemployment rate after reform, and none that it increases less. We
             find no significant effects of reform on the cyclical responsiveness
             of food consumption, food insecurity, health insurance, household
             Murray, Michael L. "And Economic Justice for All": Welfare Reform
             for the 21st Century. Armonk, New York: (Murray 1997) ME Sharpe, Inc.
             This book focuses on issues facing our welfare system. Murray emphasizes
             the difficulty in deciding who is truly in need of assistance and who is
             trying to manipulate the system. His political views are summed up by his
             "less is more" governmental philosophy. His years as a professor of
             insurance provided him ample opportunity to research this subject matter.
             This book may appeal to anyone who is interes...