Missouri

Department of Economics



Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

Division of Employment Security

This page is devoted to ADARE's Missouri Partner.  All Missouri reports, presentations, news and events will be posted to this page.

Welfare and Work in the 1990's: Experiences in Six Cities, June 2004
Peter R. Mueser, Christopher T. King
(MANUSCRIPT IN PROGRESS)

WP 03-09
Using State Administrative Data to Measure Program Performance
Peter R. Mueser, Kenneth Troske & Alexey Gorislavsky

This paper uses administrative data from Missouri to examine the sensitivity of job training program impact estimates based on alternative nonexperimental methods. In addition to simple regression adjustment, we consider Mahalanobis distance matching and a variety of methods using propensity score matching. In each case, we consider estimates based on levels of post-program earnings as well as difference-in-difference estimates based on comparison of pre and post-program earnings. Specification tests suggest that the difference-in-difference estimator may provide a better measure of program impact. We find that propensity score matching is generally most effective, but the detailed implementation of the method is not of critical importance. Our analyses demonstrate that existing data available at the state level can be used to obtain useful estimates of program impact.

WP 02-05
The Impact of Welfare Reform on Leaver Characteristics, Employment and Recidivism
William J. Carrington, Peter R. Mueser and Kenneth R. Troske

Welfare reform has transformed the U.S. cash assistance program for single parents and their children. Although there remains substantial uncertainty about the importance of reform in producing the subsequent decline in the welfare caseload, even less is known about its impact on the experiences and well being of former welfare recipients. The analysis here focuses on the characteristics and employment of welfare recipients in the state of Missouri over the period 1990-1999. We find that there has been little change in the observable characteristics of those entering, on, or leaving welfare, but there has been a dramatic growth in the importance of employment for all these groups. We also examine the dynamics of employment and welfare recidivism comparing cohorts of leavers prior to and after welfare reform. We find that after welfare reform leavers are much more likely to be working, have higher total earnings, work for employers with similar characteristics, and are less likely to return to welfare. These results suggest that welfare reform has not materially harmed welfare recipients.

Contact Information
Peter Mueser, Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Missouri-Columbia
118 Professional Building
909 University Avenue
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (573)882-6427
Fax: (573)882-2697
Email: mueserp@missouri.edu