scholarly journals Government Old-Age Support and Labor Supply: Evidence from the Old Age Assistance Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (8) ◽  
pp. 2174-2211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Fetter ◽  
Lee M. Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Old Age Support ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Old Age Assistance ◽  
Implicit Taxation

Many government programs transfer resources to older people and implicitly or explicitly tax their labor. We shed new light on the labor supply and welfare effects of such programs by investigating the Old Age Assistance Program (OAA). Exploiting the large differences in OAA programs across states and Census data on the entire US population in 1940, we find that OAA reduced the labor force participation rate among men aged 65–74 by 8.5 percentage points, more than one-half of its 1930–1940 decline, but that OAA’s implicit taxation of earnings imposed only small welfare costs on recipients. (JEL H24, H55, H75, J14, J22)

Resisting a Right to Relief: States, Responsible Relative Laws, and Old Age Assistance

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Stein-Roggenbuck
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Public Assistance ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
The Social ◽  
Old Age Assistance ◽  
Social Security Act ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Eligibility Requirement

Abstract:Efforts to modernize public assistance via the Social Security Act of 1935 met significant opposition from states. One manifestation of that resistance was state responsible relative laws in the Old Age Assistance program. Responsible relative laws enforced support by adult children as an eligibility requirement; applicants with children deemed able to provide support were either denied aid, or the grant awarded was reduced. These laws are an example of parent dependency policies that sought to enforce or encourage family members, particularly adult children, to support parents in need. States sought to ensure that all financial resources were exhausted before public funds were spent on OAA. Responsible relative laws were an arena of public assistance that remained under state discretion, and many states used them to control costs and contest federal efforts to modernize relief programs and limit state and local authority.

Male Retirement Behavior in the United States, 1930–1950

1991 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald O. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Private Pension ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
The Social ◽  
Retirement Behavior ◽  
Old Age Assistance ◽  
Social Security Act

Explanations for the recent decline in the labor force attachment of males 65 years of age and older include the introduction of Old Age and Survivors Insurance and the growth in private pension programs. Neither hypothesis can explain the sizable decline that occurred between 1930 and 1950, when aggregate social security and private pension payments were small. Estimates from pooled state aggregate data indicate that the means-tested Old Age Assistance program established by the Social Security Act of 1935 significantly increased retirement activity in this period, particularly among low-income individuals.

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