Party Change and Policy Reform: Welfare Programs in the American States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2002.23.0.379-396Abstract
This paper examines the effects of party control (Republican or Democrat) on state welfare policies after congressional passage of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996. Interviews and surveys of legislative actors suggest that the adoption process in many states was highly partisan, but there was no relationship between party measures and welfare policy content for all states. Policy makers reported that welfare policy choices were influenced by the re-election context in a state. States that adopted more generous TANF policies had: competitive party systems, liberal ideologies, or previously high rankings on AFDC expenditures. Party positions redefined the welfare policy problem and set the parameters for welfare reform choices, but those choices were modified by contextual variables in some states. A few Republican governors accomplished comprehensive welfare policy reform.References
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