Community effects on welfare participation

This paper conceptualizes and estimates a model of welfare participation that tests for community effects. Theoretically, the model is consistent with Fischer's (1984) notion of urban life, and a welfare participation model developed by Rank and Hirschl (1993). The empirical analysis includes aggregate and multivariate tests, and an identification of these effects in terms of household knowledge and behavior We find strong evidence that community structure influences the decision to get food stamps, and one notable difference with the Rank and Hirschl findings: community poverty level is a more powerful and global predictor of patricipation than is population density. The findings suggest emendations to Wilson's notion of the "truly disadvantaged" insofar as residence in high poverty areas afford opportunities for information exchange and the development of specialized networks.