Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty

Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cho, Clare Yoonshin
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2015
Subjects:
Economics
Public Policy
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437158632
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14371586322021-08-03T06:32:07Z Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty Cho, Clare Yoonshin Economics Public Policy Policymakers often reference economic research to frame public policies. Thus, it is important to thoroughly assess public policies and programs for future administrative policies. The research conducted in this dissertation evaluates three federal programs targeting poverty: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Empowerment Zones (EZs) and Enterprise Communities (ECs) Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).The first essay examines the effect of time limits created through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996. Although studies finding evidence of the intergenerational transmission of TANF participation contributed to the creation of this legislation, this measure of “welfare dependence” has yet to be reexamined. I group states according to time limits to measure the intergenerational transmission and duration of participation in this study. Although preliminary estimates suggest that the intergenerational transmission of participation has continued, controlling for selection bias using an inverse mills ratio and conducting a two-stage predictor- substitution regression with instrumental variables indicates that it has not. Furthermore, results from a Cox-proportional hazard rate model indicate that states without a time limit affect duration of participation through the probability of entry, but do not affect the probability of exit. The results suggest that time limits affect the number of times a household participates, rather than the amount of time a household receives benefits each time they participate.The second study examines the effect of EZs on rural migration trends. While studies have evaluated the program’s effect on urban communities, relatively few have examined rural EZs. This study fills this gap in the literature by examining changes in employment, population composition, and migration trends in rural EZs by using propensity scores to identify comparable, eligible areas. The results indicate that, although there was less outmigration, younger and educated individuals were not incentivized to remain in rural EZs. In addition, the results indicate that rural EZs had a similar increase in employment as comparable non-EZ communities, suggesting that receiving an EZ designation did not generate additional employment growth.The final essay in this dissertation examines the accessibility of SNAP authorized stores and its response to changes in demand. Numerous studies have examined SNAP participation under the assumption that stores are readily available. This study examines whether this is a valid assumption by examining the change in accessibility using a new measure of access. The results indicate that accessibility has worsened from 2000 to 2010 for SNAP authorized grocery stores, and that large stores were unresponsive to changes in demand. Furthermore, separating counties into quartiles according to its poverty rate in 2000 indicates that counties with the lowest need had an increase in SNAP authorized stores in response to increasing poverty rates, but that stores in counties with the highest need were unresponsive. 2015-10-14 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437158632 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437158632 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Economics
Public Policy
spellingShingle Economics
Public Policy
Cho, Clare Yoonshin
Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
author Cho, Clare Yoonshin
author_facet Cho, Clare Yoonshin
author_sort Cho, Clare Yoonshin
title Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
title_short Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
title_full Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
title_fullStr Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
title_full_unstemmed Examining Three Federal Programs Targeting Poverty
title_sort examining three federal programs targeting poverty
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2015
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437158632
work_keys_str_mv AT choclareyoonshin examiningthreefederalprogramstargetingpoverty
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