Doctoral Dissertation Research: Explaining Welfare Generosity Trajectories Across US States, 1911-1996

博士论文研究：解释 1911-1996 年美国各州的福利慷慨轨迹

• 批准号: 0926708
• 负责人: Lane Kenworthy
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0926708&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Explaining; Welfare

SES-0926708Lane KenworthyLisa ThiebaudUniversity of ArizonaPrior to the establishment of Aid to Dependent Children in 1935, states offered cash assistance to single mothers and their children through locally administered programs known as mothers' pensions. Since the first mothers' pension law was passed in 1911, the rank-ordering of states' generosity has been remarkably stable, shifting only after welfare reform in 1996. Prior research has neither documented nor explained this remarkable path dependence. This dissertation will study initial levels of welfare generosity across states as well as why the rank-ordering of states' benefit levels remained so unvarying while the programs proffering assistance (and the country as a whole) changed dramatically. It is hypothesized that differences in state capacity and racial composition across states during the mothers? pension era can explain states? differing trajectories with regard to generosity. The co-PI will use three analytic strategies: content analysis of initial mothers' pension legislation, statistical analysis of benefit levels, and case studies of Massachusetts and Texas utilizing process-tracing of archival material. This project has the potential to contribute to substantive and theoretical knowledge about the American welfare state. Substantively, we know very little about welfare policy at the state level in the US, and what we do know is focused on the antecedents to and effects of the 1996 welfare reform. Furthermore, the extant literature on welfare generosity at the state level, which is purely quantitative, lacks attention to causal mechanisms. Theoretically, scholars have long considered race to be a key part of the explanation for the limited American welfare state, but they have only recently taken the interaction between race and state capacity into account. For example, the stingiest states usually have both weak state capacity and a large African-American population, and it may be the combination of these factors that ensures low benefits.As decision-making about social policy shifts from a federal to a state responsibility, it becomes increasingly important to comprehend how states make policy decisions and how certain decisions become "locked in." The research conducted to date indicates strong path dependence in states? policy trajectories, so the historical perspective of this research is integral to understanding contemporary welfare policy. Furthermore, as the US becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, understanding how race continues to affect welfare policy aids in ensuring that the welfare state is accessible to all citizens. Finally, the amount of cash assistance is of paramount importance to those who receive welfare, and the real value of welfare benefits has been declining since the 1970s.

在1935年建立对受抚养儿童的援助之前，各州通过当地管理的被称为母亲养老金的计划向单身母亲及其子女提供现金援助。 自1911年第一部母亲养老金法通过以来，各州慷慨程度的排序一直非常稳定，只有在1996年福利改革后才发生变化。 先前的研究既没有记录也没有解释这种显着的路径依赖。 本论文将研究初始水平的福利慷慨跨越国家，以及为什么排名排序的国家的福利水平保持不变，而提供援助的计划（和整个国家）发生了巨大变化。 据推测，在国家能力和种族组成的差异，在国家之间的母亲？养老金时代能解释国家吗？在慷慨方面的不同轨迹。共同参与者将采用三种分析战略：对最初的母亲养恤金立法进行内容分析，对福利水平进行统计分析，以及利用档案材料的过程跟踪对马萨诸塞州和得克萨斯州进行案例研究。 该项目有可能对美国福利国家的实质性和理论知识做出贡献。 实质上，我们对美国州一级的福利政策知之甚少，我们所知道的主要是1996年福利改革的背景和影响。 此外，现存的文献在国家一级的福利慷慨，这是纯粹的定量，缺乏关注的因果机制。 理论上，学者们一直认为种族是解释美国有限福利国家的关键部分，但他们只是最近才考虑到种族和国家能力之间的相互作用。 例如，最吝啬的州通常既有薄弱的州能力，又有大量的非洲裔美国人，而这些因素的结合可能确保了低福利。随着社会政策的决策从联邦转变为州的责任，理解州如何做出政策决定以及某些决定如何被“锁定”变得越来越重要。“迄今为止进行的研究表明，各州存在强烈的路径依赖？政策轨迹，因此本研究的历史视角是理解当代福利政策不可或缺的。 此外，随着美国在种族和民族上变得更加多样化，了解种族如何继续影响福利政策有助于确保福利国家对所有公民都是开放的。 最后，现金援助的数额对领取福利的人来说至关重要，自1970年代以来，福利津贴的真实的价值一直在下降。