Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Food Stamps In Consumption Stabilization, Craig Gundersen, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The Food Stamp Program provides assistance to households with incomes and assets below fixed thresholds. Although it is the largest entitlement program in the social safety net, little is known about the effect of food stamps on stabilizing fluctuations in household income and consumption. To estimate the volatility of income and the attendant reduction in volatility due to food stamps we use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics over 1980-1999 along with a model of income that admits permanent and transitory components as well as random growth rate heterogeneity. We then specify a model relating income changes to …

The Impact Of Welfare Programs On Poverty Rates: Evidence From The American States, Richard Fording, William D. Berry

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

There is spirited debate between those who maintain that public assistance to the poor decreases poverty by raising their incomes (an income enhancement effect) and those who contend that welfare increases poverty by discouraging the poor from working (a work disincentive effect). Extant studies have been inconclusive because they have focused on the effect of welfare benefits on the poverty rate, but have not employed designs that allow researchers to sort out distinct income enhancement and work disincentive effects. We develop a model of poverty rates in the American states that permits estimation of these distinct effects ñ based on …

Obesity And The Development Of Complications Across The Life Span: Is There A Relationship Between Obesity And Poverty, Mildred D. Fennal

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between the development of obesity in children ages five to ten years, and poverty (the socio-economic status of the family). Because of the associated complications of obesity such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension, this research aimed to determine if obesity, a precursor of these diseases, was related to poverty.

The rate of the development of hypertension and diabetes in children and young adults has been steadily increasing over the past ten years (Hines, Fishman, Green, 1999). Therefore, there is an urgent need for continued investigation exploring the multiple …

Improving The Well Being Of At-Risk Families: Exploring Clients’ Perceptions Of Preventative Services, Lenore M. Mcwey

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Low income and working poor families are exposed to tremendous stressors, which in turn can impede their ability to care for their children (Dyk, 2004). In 2000, reports of abuse and/or neglect of over five million children were made to Child Protective Services (CPS) Agencies (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). These families are often termed “at-risk” because of the possibility that the children could be placed in foster care. One prevention strategy used to help at-risk families is in-home family therapy. The Young Investigator Award through the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR) enabled me …