Can rural welfare recipients find work?
National studies suggest that a strong economy, welfare reform, and expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) have helped raise the employment rates of single mothers, with one-half to two-thirds finding employment at some time after leaving the welfare rolls. The proportion of poor single rural mothers who were employed rose sharply after welfare reform, increasing from 59 percent in 1996 to 70 percent in 1999. Although the increase was similar in both rural and urban areas, some State-level studies suggest more variable effects. The strongest evidence comes from a Minnesota study by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) that examined the employment and earnings gains of a control group of single-parent (predominantly mothers) AFDC participants and a group of similar participants in an experimental welfare reform program, the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP). Welfare recipients were randomly assigned to the two groups, so that any changes in employmen
