Join the Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute and the UCI School of Social Sciences for an evening lecture with Robert A. Moffitt. In his talk, Moffitt will discuss the successes and failures of welfare reform.

The welfare system in the United States has undergone a long-term evolution from one that provides benefits primarily to nonworking poor families to one that increasingly provides benefits to low-income families with working adults. Many of these families have incomes above the official government poverty line and are not poor. This evolution reflects changing American preferences with regards to the question of who among the poor is deserving and who is not.

Moreover, this evolution reflects long-lasting preferences toward supporting employment, which greatly increases financial incentives for poor families to work, a favored goal among economists and many policy makers. However, at the same time, it has led to declining support for the poor, and has led to reduced financial incentives to higher income families. In his talk, Moffitt will discuss how the resulting policy challenge needs to be addressed with new thinking about welfare programs.

Please RSVP here if you plan to attend.