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A study on the effect of welfare on family dissolutions, or children living apart from their parents, is discussed. Topics include the study design, exclusion of variables related to reasons for family dissolution, state proactivity in caring for children, time variation in welfare benefits, and the effect of differences in housing costs.

Research by Peter Brandon and Gene Fisher on the effect of welfare benefits on family dissolution is discussed. Family dissolution is increasing, but the reason cannot be determined with the available data.

Higher welfare benefits appear to decrease the risk of children residing apart from their parents. When economically deprived, single-parent families will reduce the number of children living with them.

Research by Peter Brandon and Gene Fisher on the effect of welfare on dissolution of child-parent living arrangements is discussed. Topics include the dissolution decision, the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data, future research directions, other factors affecting dissolution, policy issues, and the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Numbers single mothers have risen in the US, and this phenomenon is examined, as are the effects of different types of policies such as welfare withdrawal, and payment per child.

Households can be analyzed in terms of individuals within them, and children can be seen as collective goods. This helps explain an increase in female-headed households among people on low incomes. Sex ratios may also be important.

The phenomenon of female headship in developing countries is analyzed using a structural model, with Jamaica chosen as the target country. Although most studies presume that female-headed households (FHH) are a result of problems in family relations, evidence from Jamaica shows that FHHs represent 42% of all households. Data indicate that FHHs are endogenous and significantly affected by economic factors.

Timely payment of child support orders can be effectively organized with routine withholding of the amount from noncustodial parents' income. Reformation of the system is needed to keep up with the changes in society. Appropriate implementation strategies with effective monitoring devices will make the system more equitable. The Wisconsin example of child support reform exhibits the economic connection.

This article investigates the feminization of poverty prior to 1960 by focusing on three factors that contributed to the increase in the propensity to form female-headed households and to the poverty rate among such households. Compared with 1939, households headed by prime-age women in 1959 included fewer adults, thereby reducing earnings potential. The earnings level at which such women formed independent households was lower relative to the poverty line; and although higher earnings allowed more women to form independent households, the increase was not large enough to lift some of these households out of poverty.

Previous research suggests that single mothers in the United States are less well off in a relative sense than single mothers in other countries and that overreliance on income-tested programs in the United States is the principal culprit for this disparity. We test these hypotheses using multiple regression analysis and data from eight countries in the Luxembourg Income Study. We find that cross-country differences in demographic characteristics, labor force participation rates, levels of public and private transfers, and the degree of income testing account for much of the difference in the relative economic status of single-mother families in different countries.

Many single-parent households in Australia rely heavily on both social security payments and child support. From 1 July 2006 to 1 July 2008, sweeping reforms saw significant changes to the [...]

The analysis of the relationship between the welfare benefits provided by the state, and the trends of single motherhood in the United States, is presented.

Family structure has an effect upon the materialism of family members.

This study describes demographic characteristics, incomes, and selected expenditures of two representative samples--male-headed households who pay child support and female-headed households who receive it. It also explores differences in the amounts paid and received. The analysis is based on data from the 1985 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Results show major disparities in the levels of living of these two samples, based on measures of per capita income and expenditures. On average, child support payments represent a small portion of both the payers' and recipients' incomes, suggesting that child support is not a major financial resource for children whose parents experience marital disruption.

WELFARE BENEFITS AND THE DURATION OF SINGLE PARENTHOOD The number of one parent families has risen by about 80 per cent since 1971, reaching just over a million in 1986. [...]