Rosser Jr, John Barkley wrote: > > . . . > On Sunday in the Washington Post there was a column by > Paul Offner arguing that the states with the lowest AFDC > payments have the highest out-of-wedlock birth rates, e.g. > Mississippi. Now, I don't know if he is right, but if so, > this goes along with the crude time series of these > variables raising doubts about all these studies finding > some kind of positive relationship. I realize that such a > relationship might show with a "properly specified" > simultaneous equations model, blah blah, but I am skeptical. The key paper on this subject was done by Mary Jo Bane and David Ellwood and thoroughly debunks the Murray hypothesis that welfare benefits retard work effort and promote illegitimacy. I don't have the exact cite, but the date is around 1984. See also Fighting Poverty, What Works and What Doesn't (Danziger and Weinberg, eds). M.S. ==================================================== Max B. Sawicky 202-775-8810 (voice) Economic Policy Institute 202-775-0819 (fax) 1660 L Street, NW [EMAIL PROTECTED] Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20036
