Welfare of the Poor

Welfare of the Poor reviews the explanatory models used to predict the relation of the poor to major institutions such as the labor market the family, the health care system, and the educational system; and the impact these relations have on the status of the poor. The monograph assesses the models that explain welfare dependency. Chapters focus on such topics as research findings on the size and stability of the welfare caseload; investigations on determinants of work and welfare patterns; and the political and methodological weaknesses of the prevailing approaches in poverty research. Social workers, sociologists, economists, and policy makers will find the book insightful.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Welfare Caseload Dynamics

Caseload Variations: Conceptual Issues and Methodological Techniques

Variations within the Welfare Population

Conclusion

2 Employment

Measuring Employability

Factors Affecting Work and Welfare Patterns

Conclusion

3 Family Composition

Determinants of Marital Instability

Effects of the Welfare System on Remarriage

Effects of the Welfare System on Illegitimacy

Effects of the Welfare System on Fertility

Conclusion

4 Health

Health Definitions

Nutrition: A Causal Factor

Utilization of Health Care Services among the Poor

Conclusion

5 Education

Socioeconomic Determinants

Inequality of School Resources

Institutional Determinants

Conclusion

6 Welfare Research: Political and Methodological Limitations

Impact of Differing Paradigms on Understanding Dependency

Cost of Knowledge

Policy Implications and Future Research on Poverty

References

Index