Race and Regional Unemployment as Predictors of Exit from AFDC

Abstract

This article compares welfare exit rates in three counties, and attempts to explain differences in types of exit using event history analysis. Using data from evaluation of an experimental welfare program, the study examines the effects of race and regionalized unemployment rate on welfare duration. The data suggest that factors which are both beyond the control of welfare program recipients and outside the purview of most welfare programs have a strong effect on the ability of welfare recipients to become self-supporting.