Gender differences in the effect of welfare on children in poverty

Kelly Lynn Haverstick, Boston College

Abstract

Does having a mother on welfare affect sons differently than daughters later in life? Since women are almost exclusively the recipients of welfare, perhaps daughters are affected by their mother's experience in ways that sons are not. Daughters could, for example, not plan as much for financial independence knowing that welfare payments might be available to them. Although there is much research on the relationship between welfare and children's development, none of it considers possible gender differences in welfare's impact. I use information from siblings in poverty to identify possible gender differences in the impact of maternal welfare receipt on young adult outcomes. I find no evidence of son-daughter differences in the effects of maternal welfare, suggesting that there is no intergenerational welfare effect that is particular to female children. These findings indicate that any policies aimed at improving the outcomes of children of welfare recipients need not target sons and daughters separately. Is there a difference in the developmental outcomes of daughters compared with sons of welfare mothers? In a recent study, Levine and Zimmerman (2000) found little evidence of a causal effect of maternal welfare receipt on the academic achievement, behavioral problems, and verbal ability of children in the NLSY. My study considers these same childhood developmental outcomes, but tests for differences in boys' and girls' developmental outcomes due to their mothers' welfare receipt. I also look at earlier and later childhood developmental outcomes, such as motor and social skills and self-esteem. Once individual and family characteristics are included, I find no causal effect of maternal welfare on childhood development that applies to daughters but not to sons. This indicates that girls in welfare households do not encounter influences that affect their childhood developmental outcomes in a way that is different from boys. My findings imply that any welfare effect on children's intervening outcomes is universal for boys and girls. Policies aimed at increasing the future economic opportunities for children of welfare mothers may be applied regardless of gender.

Recommended Citation

Kelly Lynn Haverstick, "Gender differences in the effect of welfare on children in poverty" (January 1, 2004). Boston College Dissertations and Theses. Paper AAI3135964.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI3135964