RURAL‐URBAN DIFFERENCES IN THE UTILIZATION AND AMELIORATIVE EFFECTS OF WELFARE PROGRAMS

At a time when welfare policy analysts are preoccupied with the problem of welfare dependency, this paper refocuses attention on the ability of welfare (AFDC and general assistance) to reduce poverty among families, by highlighting and explaining rural‐urban differences in this ameliorative effect. Descriptive and multivariate methods are used to analyze data from the March 1987 Current Population Survey. Results show that despite comparatively high poverty rates in nonmetro areas, the nonmetro poor were much less likely than their urban counterparts t o receive welfare. Moreover, nonmetro welfare recipients received considerably less welfare income, on average, than metro recipients. Accordingly, the ameliorative effect of welfare was lowest in nonmetro areas and highest in central cities. Logistic regression analysis revealed that nonmetro poor families were less likely to receive welfare than those in metro areas because they were more likely to be working, older, childless, and headed by a married couple.