251. Assessing Regional Effects of Income Maintenance Programs: A Guide to Policy Analysis.
- Author
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Rand Corp., Santa Monica, CA., DaVanzo, Julie, and Greenberg, David H.
- Abstract
This paper is concerned with research issues that must be faced in assessing the potential subnational effects of proposed income maintenance programs. The paper is divided into discussions of four major tasks that must be performed by policy analysts. The first is simply to list program provisions that may have important subnational effects, either directly or by changing the behavioral patterns of participating families. The second task is to construct a set of socioeconomic indicators whereby these effects can be gauged in a manner readily comprehensible to policymakers. The third task is to develop a theoretical framework appropriate for analyzing these effects systematically. The fourth task involves actually obtaining the information necessary to predict the changes in the socioeconomic indicators that would result from adoption of the proposed income maintenance alternatives under consideration. Successful completion of these tasks depend on resolving a set of fundamental research issues that do not change as the geographic dimension of primary interest varies. Thus, although all the topics discussed in this paper are relevant to assessing the potential subnational implications of alternative income maintenance programs, many are equally pertinent to examining potential national effects. (Author/JM)
- Published
- 1974