The Legacy of Welfare: Economic Endowments or Cultural Characteristics?

The current study explores the impact of parental welfare history on individuals’ current use of welfare by decomposing intergenerational differences using techniques traditionally employed in the race and sex wage discrimination literature. This research extends Rank and Cheng’s examination of welfare across generations by including various attitudinal, cultural, and community factors. Empirical testing of the the oretical explanations of welfare use— cultural and structural models—found mixed support. Utilizing data from the National Survey of Households and Families, logistic regression and decomposition analysis shows that family endowments and resources, but not family culture, determine welfare use. Differences in education, socioeconomic status, attitudes, and community resources appear to sufficiently explain the influence of intergenerational welfare use. The article concludes with implications of welfare reform in light of the theoretical models and the current study findings.