Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/52018 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5668
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
There is evidence that women are more likely to live in poverty than men. Given the fact that the poor are more likely to use welfare, it becomes useful to consider welfare usage among women. A-priori welfare programs are set up in such a way that welfare usage should be based primarily on economic needs and health concerns. However, it is possible that an individual's experiences could affect their perception and preferences for using government assistance. In this scenario, differences in welfare usage will exist for individuals with similar characteristics but different experiences. We explore this possibility among women and investigate if race/ethnicity and birthplace still have a role to play in the decision to use welfare even after controlling for income, health and other demographic factors like employment. We find that race does not matter for welfare usage among comparable women. In addition, we do not find any significant differences in welfare usage among women based on birthplace - suggesting that comparable naturalized and native born women share similar preference for welfare. The only exception is women born in US territories. Our results suggest that among comparable women, women born in U.S territories seem to be more inclined to welfare usage in comparison to US born White women.
Subjects: 
welfare usage
women
immigrants
race
ethnicity
birth place
black
welfare
immigrant status
JEL: 
J2
J10
J24
J38
I21
O12
O15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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