TY  - JOUR
AU  - Moffitt,Robert A.
TI  - Demographic Change and Public Assistance Programs
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6995
PY  - 1999
Y2  - March 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6995
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6995.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Robert A. Moffitt
Department of Economics
Johns Hopkins University
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD  21218
Tel: 410/516-7611
Fax: 410/516-7600
E-Mail: moffitt@jhu.edu
AB  - Growth in overall real welfare expenditures per capita has been a noted trend in the last thirty years in the U.S.    The influence of demographic forces in contributing to this growth is considered in this paper.   It is found that the growth of female-headed families is the strongest and dominant force in contributing to trends in real AFDC expenditures per capita over the long run.   The influence of demographic growth is especially strong for the black population.   For the Food Stamp and Medicaid programs, increases in participation rates, on the other hand, have been more important.    Projections of future trends in the age, race, and sex composition of the U.S. population show that expenditures in none of these programs is likely to respond to such basic demographic trends, however.
ER  -