Contact:   David Hogberg  

319-385-3462

Policy Study Finds Decline in Welfare Caseloads Caused by Welfare Reform not Economy

          Mt. Pleasant, IA – The decline in the welfare caseload is the result of welfare reform, not the economy.   That’s the finding of a Public Interest Institute Policy Study, by PII Research Analyst David Hogberg.

          The Policy Study entitled: “The Decline of Welfare Caseloads in the United States and Iowa:  Reform or Economy?” empirically examines the controversy over what caused the reduction of welfare cases in the 1990’s.   The results show it is incentives provided by welfare reform, not “new jobs” created by the economy, that are the most important factor in compelling welfare recipients to change their behavior.   

          The Policy Study concludes that when the federal government reformed its welfare program so that benefits would be subject to time limits, recipients took further steps toward self sufficiency.   Hogberg says this change in incentives accounts for the decline in welfare caseloads. 

          Hogberg says his research gives insight into what the future of welfare reform should be.  He says the welfare plan advanced by the Bush administration moves in the right direction toward further welfare reforms. 

          The full text of “The Decline of Welfare Caseloads in the U.S. and Iowa” Policy Study is available on the Public Interest Institute web site at:  www.limitedgovernment.org.  You may obtain

a printed copy of the Policy Study by contacting PII at: 319-385-3462.

Public Interest Institute at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant is Iowa’s only state-level, independent, public-policy research organization.   For further information on this organization      you may call (319) 385-3462, or check the Public Interest Institute web site at: www.limitedgovernment.org

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