Volume 8, (Supplement) 1973
Shea, John R. 1973. "Welfare Mothers: Barriers to Labor Force Entry." Journal of Human Resources 8(S):90-102.
Interview data from a national sample of 30- to 44-year old women who were out of the labor force in 1967 are used to analyze reactions to a hypothetical job offer. While black women are more likely than white women to have responded affirmatively, there is no difference by potential eligibility for a family assistance payment. Multiple regression (OLS) analysis shows that, among the potentially eligible, either (or both) (1) willingness to take a hypothetical job or (2) required rate of pay is systematically related to marital status, receipt of AFDC, poor health, family income less respondent's earnings, and attitude toward the propriety of mothers working. Policy implications are discussed.
The author is Research Associate, Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University. This article is an outgrowth of an earlier study by the author and Jack Meyer, Potential Recipients of Family Assistance Payments: Characteristics and Labor Market Behavior [3], sponsored by the Manpower Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, under the Social Security Act. Since researchers are encouraged to express their own judgments freely, this article does not necessarily represent the official opinion or policy of the Department of Labor. The author would like to thank John Grasso and Melinda Ross for research assistance, and Sookon Kim, Andrew Kohen, Gilbert Nestel, and Herbert Parnes for helpful comments on an earlier draft. Responsibility for interpretations and conclusions, of course, are the author's alone.
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US ISSN 0022-166X