Welfare Realities

From Rhetoric to Reform

Mary Jo Bane

David R. Ellwood

    Mary Jo Bane and David Ellwood examine the American welfare system--its recipients, its providers, and the swirl of policy ideas surrounding it--with objectivity and clarity. Focusing on the AFDC Program (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), they identify three models that have been used to explain "welfare dependency" and test them against an accumulating body of evidence, offering suggestions for identifying potential long-term recipients so that resources can be targeted to encourage self-sufficiency.
  • Cover: Welfare Realities

Mary Jo Bane is the Thornton Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

David T. Ellwood is Academic Dean and Malcolm Wiener Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.