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Cited by 15Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsFamily Dynamics and RelationshipsFamily and Matrimonial Law

Changes in Family Structure and Welfare Participation Since the 1960s: The Role of Legal Services

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Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, Cunningham, Jamein·2019·National Bureau of Economic Research
DOI 10.3386/w26238
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Abstract

This paper evaluates the effects of the War on Poverty's Legal Services Program (LSP) on family structure and welfare participation.LSPs provided subsidized legal assistance to poor communities, focusing on divorce and welfare access.We use a difference-in-differences research design based on the rollout of the program to 251 counties from 1965 to 1975.We find temporary increases in divorce and persistent increases in welfare participation and nonmarital birth rates.Nonmarital births rose because marriage rates fell, not because birth rates rose.Expanded access to legal institutions thus contributed, directly and indirectly, to changes in family structure in the 1960s.

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  • Goodman-Bacon and Cunningham (2019) observed that untreated counties are different in their observables compared to treated counties.

    “In a study of the impact of the introduction of the Legal Services Program (during the 1960s) on demographic outcomes, Goodman-Bacon and Cunningham (2019) observe that untreated counties are different in their observables compared to treated counties.”

    From An Introductory Guide to Event Study Models (2023) · cites this paper as Goodman-Bacon and Cunningham (2019)

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Authors
Goodman-Bacon, A., & Cunningham, J.
Affiliations
University of Wisconsin System (US)
ORCID
Cunningham, Jamein
Venue
National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher
National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
2019-09
DOI
10.3386/w26238
OpenAlex
W2971575506
Cited by
15
References
69
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Social Security Administration
  • Yale University
  • Harvard University
  • University of Michigan (R24HD041028)
  • University of Oxford
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24HD041028)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Law › Family and Matrimonial Law
Keywords
War on Poverty, family structure, welfare participation, divorce, out-of-wedlock births, nuptiality, legal aid, low-income communities, 1960s

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