Welfare Programs Under State Control example essay topic

215 words
Interstate Competition in Health and Welfare Programs (with Mark Rom) Does state control over redistributive programs make them less generous? Most analyses of interstate competition over welfare (known colloquially as the 'race to the bottom,' or RTB) focus solely on benefit levels for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). This paper broadens the analysis to cover multiple welfare programs, multiple measures of generosity, and multiple indicators of state competition. Doing so has two main benefits. First, we can distinguish between competitive behavior by states and intrinsic regional co variation. We examine welfare programs under state control and exempt from it, and include indicators of symmetric and asymmetric competition, and argue that the RTB requires that competitive pressure must restrict welfare generosity, and that this restriction must be present in welfare programs over which states have control and absent from programs exempt from state control.

Second, we evaluate multiple measures and programs and so can generalize theories about interstate competition and redistribution. To do so we examine benefits, access, and cost for the AFDC, Medicaid, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs between 1975 and 1995. A multivariate model yields strong evidence that state control over redistribution leads across the board to restrictive health and welfare policy.