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Federalism and the Racialization of Welfare Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Christopher Ojeda ,
Anne M. Whitesell ,
Michael B. Berkman  and
Eric Plutzer
Christopher Ojeda
Affiliation:
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA
Anne M. Whitesell
Affiliation:
Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, USA
Michael B. Berkman
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Eric Plutzer*
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
*
Eric Plutzer, The Pennsylvania State University, 219 Pond Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Considerable research shows that welfare policies are stricter in states with large African American caseloads. We challenge the universality of this claim by extending Soss, Fording, and Schram's Racial Classification Model to account for the multidimensionality of policy, the constraints imposed by federal funding, and state legislators' ideological goals and racial stereotypes. Examining the work requirements, sanctions, time limits, and exemptions in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF), we test our hypotheses using the most detailed measures of state welfare policy yet examined. Consistent with our theory, we show that policy is more generous on some dimensions and less generous on others as the size of the African American caseload increases. This pattern reveals a complexity in welfare policy previously overlooked by research showing only negative effects. The results have important implications for theories addressing race in the context of TANF and other complex policy regimes.

Keywords

welfare policypublic policyfederal/statefederalismracial classification modelpoverty/inequalitydistributive politics
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 474 - 501
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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