Master's Thesis by Becca
Newman, 1999
Dr. Deanna L. Sharpe, Thesis Supervisor
Abstract:
The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act transferred oversight of welfare from the federal to the state level. Thus, state level living cost estimates are needed to inform state welfare policy.
The purpose of this study was to assess the cost of a market basket that would meet basic needs of a rural Missouri single mother with two children aged four and six. The estimated annual cost of this market basket was approximately $18,530; 1.8 times higher than annual minimum wage earnings for full time work and 1.4 times higher than the official poverty measure for a family of three.
Limited education, job skills, and job opportunity make it unlikely that rural Missouri single mothers can earn enough to make ends meet without some economic support. Knowing living costs at the county level can enable state policy makers to develop effective means of facilitating the transfer of rural Missouri single mothers from welfare to work. Results of this study suggest that economic aid that focuses on food and child care may be most helpful.
To download the full study, please see the following:
Table of Contents (Word Document)
Thesis(Word Document)
Figure 2(Excel File)
Table 3-5c (Excel File)
Table 6 (Excel File)
