Welfare Reform Policy from Nixon to Clinton: What Role for Social Science?

This paper reviews the evolution of welfare reform proposals, charting changes from the War on Poverty, President Nixon's Family Assistance Plan, President Carter's Program for Better Jobs and Income, the workfare demonstration projects emanating from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, the Family Support Act of 1988, and the 1996 PRWORA. The author examines the effects of these proposals in terms of social support and labor market participation, and reviews recent evidence comparing welfare recipients to nonrecipients across a range of labor market experiences and personal attributes. In terms of the welfare-to-work reform, the author concludes that declining employer demand for less-skilled workers and the labor disadvantages of long-term welfare recipients has contributed to increased economic hardship for some former recipients, even while it has dramatically decreased welfare caseloads.