The Effect of the AFDC Guarantee on Family Income

本研究探讨了以抚养子女家庭援助(AFDC)的形式提供的收入支助对单亲家庭儿童贫困的影响。首席调查员利用21年来收集的大量纵向数据集(收入动态小组研究)来检验这样一个假设，即慷慨的福利削弱了接受者的职业道德，从而促进了美国下层阶级的成长。由于AFDC的担保(支付给没有其他收入来源的单亲家庭的金额)因州和州内的不同而不同，这项研究可以调查较高的AFDC担保是否会改善或延续贫困，以及在什么情况下这两种结果都可能出现。这项研究的发现可以为福利的最佳水平提供信息。它还可以揭示政策制定者极为关注的一个问题，即从长远来看，更高的福利水平可能会伤害而不是帮助穷人。

This study addresses the effect of income support, in the form of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), on the poverty of children in single-parent families. The Principal Investigator draws on a large, longitudinal data set (the Panel Study of Income Dynamics), collected over twenty-one years, to test the hypothesis that generous welfare benefits undermine the work ethic of recipients and thereby contribute to the growth of an underclass in the United States. Since the AFDC guarantee (the amount of money paid to single-parent families with no other source of income) varies by state and within states over time, this research can investigate whether higher AFDC guarantees ameliorate or perpetuate poverty, and the conditions under which either outcome is likely. The findings from this study can contribute information as to the optimal level for welfare benefits. It can also shed light on an issue of vital concern among policy makers, that higher welfare benefit levels may hurt rather than help the poor in the long run.