TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-income effects of welfare receipt on early childhood cognitive scores
AU - Heflin, Colleen M.
AU - Acevedo, Sharon Kukla
N1 - Funding Information:
The research reported in this article was made possible by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation.
PY - 2011/5
Y1 - 2011/5
N2 - Child poverty in America has become an enduring part of the social landscape that many families must navigate. As prior research has established that income transfers can affect child outcomes, we focus our attention on the conditions under which these transfers occur. Using panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the non-income effects of TANF participation on children's early cognitive development using methods to address statistical concerns about endogeneity and selection. Our results indicate that participating in TANF is negatively associated with cognitive development. Furthermore, we are able to identify maternal stress as a viable causal pathway between TANF receipt and cognitive development, a result that we are unable to replicate with a falsification test involving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our results suggest that the structure of cash transfers may have effects on early childhood outcomes.
AB - Child poverty in America has become an enduring part of the social landscape that many families must navigate. As prior research has established that income transfers can affect child outcomes, we focus our attention on the conditions under which these transfers occur. Using panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the non-income effects of TANF participation on children's early cognitive development using methods to address statistical concerns about endogeneity and selection. Our results indicate that participating in TANF is negatively associated with cognitive development. Furthermore, we are able to identify maternal stress as a viable causal pathway between TANF receipt and cognitive development, a result that we are unable to replicate with a falsification test involving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our results suggest that the structure of cash transfers may have effects on early childhood outcomes.
KW - Early cognitive development
KW - Social spending
KW - Welfare participation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.11.006
DO - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.11.006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79952898660
SN - 0190-7409
VL - 33
SP - 634
EP - 643
JO - Children and Youth Services Review
JF - Children and Youth Services Review
IS - 5
ER -