I discuss recent books offering differing explanations for persistent U.S. poverty. Desmond (2023) argues that aid to low-income Americans is captured by more powerful market actors. I contextualize this concern as about incidence and consider both policies for changing incidence (by changing outside options) and supplemental critiques focused on reducing deadweight loss as well as reapportioning surplus. Kearney (2023) argues that declining marriage means American children grow up in less-resourced families. I suggest this decline may reflect shortfalls in “soft” skills needed to make marriage efficient in an era when men are increasingly a source of family economic instability while women’s outside options improve. I consider policies to improve soft skills and policies supporting family economic stability, which could reduce spousal-skill requirements. I conclude by encouraging engagement with the emerging policy feedback literature, which explores why popular, evidence-based policies like those discussed have not so far been adopted in the U.S.
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- Acknowledgements Disclosure
- I have nothing to disclose. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w32967
- Pages
- 33
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES 1
- OF MARKETS AND MARRIAGES A MULTIDISCIPLINARY MULTIBOOK REVIEW ESSAY OF RECENT WORK ON THE CAUSES OF U.S. POVERTY 1
- Elizabeth Ananat 1
- Working Paper 32967 httpwww.nber.orgpapersw32967 1
- NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02138 September 2024 1
- I have no to disclose. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. 1
- Elizabeth Ananat Barnard College Columbia University 3009 Broadway Office 1019 Milstein Building New York NY 10027 and NBER eananatbarnard.edu 2
- Poverty by America The Two-Parent Privilege 3
- Poverty by America 3
- New York Times 4
- Understanding exploitation as a question of incidence 5
- Evicted The impoverishing labor market 7
- Policy implications of the Desmond diagnosis 10
- Essential How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice Side Hustle Safety Net How Vulnerable Workers Survive Precarious Times 11
- The Two-Parent Privilege 13
- 19 Kids and Counting 16 and Pregnant increasing acceptance for how others lead their lives more The changing economics of marriage 15
- New York Times Washington Post 17
- In other rich countries meanwhile subsidized childcare reduces at least one source of negotiation over gendered tasks. 19
- Policy implications of Kearneys diagnosis 20
- The Parent Trap How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis 21
