View Research by Author - Jesse Valente

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/JesseValente

With single mothers as the primary beneficiaries of welfare and roughly 20% of working-age welfare recipients living in rural areas, an important research question is whether the employment responsiveness of single mothers differs in rural and urban areas. Using nationally representative CPS data, we analyze the relationship between rural-urban locations, changing welfare policies, and the employment of single mothers. Contrary to earlier evidence, we find that welfare reform is playing a major role in raising the employment rates of single mothers, and the gains are approximately as high in rural as in urban areas.

The information in this report is critical to discussions about effective public policy responses needed to break the cycle of homelessness. As such, it provides an important baseline and foundation for future assessments of the nature and extent of homelessness. It also provides a valuable overview that will improve our understanding of the characteristics of homeless people who use services, the nature of homelessness, and how best to address it.

Recent changes in the U.S. income support system have substantially increased the financial incentives for low-income adults to work. In a recent analysis documenting the new structure of work incentives in 13 states, Acs et al. (1998) reported that income transfer benefits to low-income families are high enough so that a full-time, full-year working mother of two children earning only the minimum wage can escape poverty. The analysis showed that work incentives were especially generous to those moving from not working at all to working at a low-wage job.

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