Publications [#256415] of Jenifer Hamil Luker

Papers Published

1. Hamil-Luker, J, Trajectories of Public Assistance Receipt among Female High School Dropouts, Population Research and Policy Review, vol. 24 no. 6 (2005), pp. 673-694, Springer Nature, ISSN 0167-5923 [40230930], [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/06/15)

   Abstract:
   This paper maps patterns of public assistance receipt for 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth female high school dropouts between 1984, when they were 19-27 years old, and 1998 when they reached their early 30s and 40s. Using latent class cluster models, I test whether obtaining a GED, occupational training, work experience, marriage, and delayed parenthood reduce the probability of receiving public assistance. I find that dropouts who earn their GEDs within 4 years after leaving high school have a high probability of never receiving public assistance across the 14-year period. Those who earn GEDs 5 or more years after dropping out have a sharply reduced risk of welfare use in mid-adulthood, suggesting that a late GED may act as a turning point for those formerly reliant on public assistance. Although work experience is the strongest predictor of avoiding public assistance, marriage and education provide a more effective route off of welfare for some recipients. On-the-job training and earning a GED later in life increase the likelihood that chronic recipients will permanently exit welfare. Highlighting the diversity within the welfare population, I conclude that no single approach to ending reliance on public assistance will lead to economic self-sufficiency among the undereducated.