I Don’t Agree with Giving Cash: A Survey Experiment Examining Support for Public Assistance

• In Event: 125 - Regular Session. Poverty and the Modern American Welfare State

Abstract

Existing sociological research on support for public assistance largely focuses on attitudes toward “welfare” or “assistance to the poor.” In this paper, we offer a more nuanced analysis of beliefs about public assistance programs. We use mixed methods and an experimental survey design to examine whether support for anti-poverty policy is consistent across program types. We find programs that offer benefits in-kind are more popular than cash transfers, but not all in-kind benefits are equal: SNAP/food stamps and childcare subsidies enjoy much more support than housing subsidies. However, our findings show that when increases in public assistance come through a hike in personal tax obligation, respondents are no more supportive of in-kind transfers than they are of cash transfers. These findings are in line with social theories on welfare reform. In particular, both the quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that paternalism, the belief that public assistance recipients will not use cash welfare appropriately, underlies the support for in-kind transfers over cash welfare. We conclude with a discussion of policy implications.

Authors

• Colin Campbell, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

• S. Michael Gaddis, Pennsylvania State University