Showing papers by "Irwin Garfinkel published in 2000"

The Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study: Questions, Design, and a Few Preliminary Results

Abstract: Nonmarital childbearing is important because it is increasing and because there is concern (and some evidence) that it is damaging to children and perhaps parents as well We refer to the unions of unwed parents as fragile families because they are similar to traditional families in many respects, but more vulnerable Most people believe that children in fragile families would be better off if their parents lived together and their fathers were more involved in their upbringing Indeed, public policy is now attempting to enlarge the role of unwed fathers both by cutting public cash support for single mothers and by strengthening paternity establishment and child support enforcement Yet the scientific basis for these policies is weak We know very little about the men who father children outside marria ge, and we know even less about the nature of their relationships with their children and their children?s mothers The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFS) is designed to remedy this situation by following a new birth cohort of approximately 4,700 children, including 3,600 children born to unmarried parents The new data will be representative of nonmarital births in each of 20 cities and in US cities with populations over 200,000 Both mothers and fathers will be followed for at least 4 years, and inhome assessments of children?s heath and development will be carried out when the child is 4 years old The survey is designed to address the following questions: (1) What are the conditions and capabilities of new unwed parents, especially fathers? (2) What is the nature of the relationships in fragile families? (3) What factors push new unwed parents together and what factors pull them apart? In particular, how do labor markets, welfare, and child support public policies affect family formation? (4) How do children fare in fragile families and how is their well-being affected by parental capacities and relationships, and by public policies? The paper discusses what we know about each of these questions and how the FFS addresses each of them It also presents preliminary findings based on data from Austin, Texas, and Oakland, California

The impact of welfare reform for families with children: Evidence from New York : A report of the New York City Social Indicators Center, Columbia university school of social work

Abstract: This paper uses data from the Current Population Survey and administrative data from New York to simulate the poverty impact of the recent federal and state welfare reforms. We find that the federal welfare reforms would in the absence of additional state or local aid raise the poverty rate of families with children and the poverty gap (the amount needed to raise poor families’ incomes up to the poverty line). Although New York state and local welfare programs will offset much of this impact, we find that even with state and local aid, 16,000 families with children will move into poverty and 63,000 families with children, most of them already poor, will move into severe poverty, while the aggregate poverty gap will increase by nearly 25%.

The Contributing Factors to Divorced and Separated Mothers in Taiwan: A Test of the Economic Independence Hypothesis

Abstract: This paper examines the contributing factors to the increase in the numbers of divorced and separated mothers in Taiwan since the end of 1980s. In particular, it tests the hypothesis of women's economic independence. Data from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditures is used; women's potential earnings are used as the measure of their economic independence. A probit model is employed to examine the effect of predicted earnings (economic independence) on the probability of being a divorced or separated mother. The findings indicate that the rapid increase in women's education substantially raises their economic independence, and the increase in women's economic independence and the decrease in the number of children contribute greatly to the increase in the numbers of divorced and separated mothers. These results suggest that economic independence not only enables women to be less dependent on marriage for economic security but also makes divorce and separation more affordable.

Family Resource Allocation in Taiwan: Does Family Structure Matter?

Abstract: This paper empirically examines the effects of family income and family structure on family resource allocation behavior. The results indicate that, with everything else held constant, families with higher income allocate a greater share of their resources to normal goods than do low-income families. With family income held constant, single-parent families allocate more of their expenditure to medical services and inferior goods, and allocate much less of their resources to normal goods. This expenditure behavior suggests that single-parent families have an economically disadvantaged status compared to two-parent families. On the other hand, these single-parent families have different preferences as well. Single-father families allocate more of their resources to adult goods such as drinking and tobacco while single-mother families devote more resources to family- and/or child-oriented goods such as education.