“Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Post-Apartheid South Africa:
Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal”
Benjamin J. Roberts
University of Natal
Abstract: This article examines the rationale for a dynamic perspective of poverty
in South Africa and analyses the magnitude and characteristics of those in chronic
versus transitory poverty using data from the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study.
The results show that the incidence and depth of poverty have increased steadily
between 1993 and 1998, a trend that is pronounced in rural localities and for female-headed
households. Though the majority of households (30.7%) were found to be experiencing
transitory poverty, a significant proportion of households, in lieu of the expected
small minority suggested by previous empirical research, were chronically poor (22.3%).
Sweden’s Child Support Guarantee and Women’s Economic Independence
Celia Winkler
University of Montana
Abstract: Sweden’s child support guarantee, consisting of a non-means-tested
advance payment of child support and a supplement to bring all payments to a specified
minimum, was extended to almost all children of solo parents in 1964. This was not
uncontested. Advocates linked the guarantee to issues of equality among children,
equality between and among men and women, and women’s economic independence,
attempting to avoid the problems inherent in means-testing as well as the difficulties
that care allowances might pose to women’s workforce participation.
“The TANF Co-Residence Requirement for Custodial Teen Parents:
Implications for Promoting Social Justice”
Needha McNeil Boutte’-Queen
University of Houston
and
Monit Cheung
University of Houston
Abstract: This article examines the teen living requirement imposed by the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation under the Personal Responsibility
and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996. A brief discussion of the same provision under
the Family Support Act of 1988 is followed by an analysis of current eligibility
criteria and state policies as presented by the State Policy Demonstration Project
findings from a 1997 survey. Because a thorough comparison of this regulation is
difficult to present in written form, tables are used to display criteria and policies
for those states with the highest dollar amount spent on TANF funding through the
4th quarter of 1999. Barriers faced by teens seeking assistance and legal issues
across the United States and implications for promoting social justice are discussed.
“Finding Employment and Staying Employed after Leaving Welfare”
Robert E. Crew, Jr.
Florida State University
and
Joe Eyerman
Research Triangle Institute
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of transportation, childcare, and illness
on the ability of former welfare recipients to secure employment and to maintain
employment once more “distal” or structural factors are controlled. The
impact of these variables on gaining and keeping employment is evaluated in a series
of probit regression models. The analysis suggests that the current labor market
has transformed securing and maintaining employment into two separate events and
that most of the factors traditionally used to predict the ability of welfare recipients
to gain employment are now more important to maintaining employment. In particular,
the absence of an automobile reduces the probability of keeping a job by 24 points.
“Experiences with a Child Support Agency: Stories of Frustration and Despair”
Janice Hassebrock Laakso
University of Washington, Tacoma
Abstract: Although there has been steady improvement in the amount of child support
collected, it is estimated that about 70% of poor children eligible for child support
do not receive it. There has been little formal study of mothers’ interactions
with child support offices and how these experiences may influence decisions about
child support. This article presents a descriptive analysis of mothers’ attitudes
and experiences with a child support agency, giving voice to clients’ perspectives
about working with this system. The findings indicate that mothers find the public
child support system to be inefficient and ineffective in helping them to obtain
child support, even after they have a child support award. Their stories help us
understand why many custodial parents become frustrated and angry at the system
that has been put in place to help them, but often sets up barriers to their efforts
to obtain child support. Only through more effective service delivery can parents
become successful at receiving the child support needed to reduce their poverty
level and improve the well being of their children.
“Thoughts on Poverty and Inequality: Digital Divide and Poverty”
Kumar Venkat
Surya Technologies, Inc.
Abstract: Many high technology executives and political leaders increasingly believe
that bridging the so-called digital divide would lift people out of poverty. In
addition, the high technology industry views the vast numbers of poor people around
the world as a potential market and a large business opportunity. However, an examination
of poverty in the United States suggests that the eradication of poverty cannot
be easily turned into a business proposition based on technological solutions. Developing
countries would do well to focus first on meeting the basic needs of the poor using
affordable, low technology resources. Ultimately, the eradication of poverty demands
not more technology, but fundamental social changes.