On the basis of official statistics, poverty has halved in Ghana over the period from 1991 to 2005. Our objective in this paper is to assess how far this fall was linked to the creation of better paying jobs and the increase in education. We find that earnings rose rapidly in the period from 1998 to 2005, by 64% for men and by 55% for women. While…

Discusses characteristics of counties with high poverty rates--sparser population, larger proportion of poor and most poverty-prone populations, less educated population, greater reliance on transfer payments, and higher proportions of income from farming. Suggests that government assistance in the form of income transfers could help alleviate…

America today is haunted by the paradox of hunger and food insecurity amidst unprecedented prosperity. Despite a record economic expansion, millions of American households struggle to find sufficient resources to feed family members. Focusing on families with children, this report presents current evidence on hunger and food insecurity, identifies…

For many single mothers and displaced homemakers (homemakers who must suddenly enter the workforce), jobs often do not signify escape from poverty. 1990 U.S. Census data indicate that the number of single mothers and displaced homemakers rose dramatically during the 1980s. Workforce participation for this group also rose during that decade, but…

A large-scale evaluation was conducted of Jobs-First GAIN, a strongly employment-focused mandatory welfare-to-work program. Its main features were an unusually intensive program orientation; high quality job clubs; job development activities; strong encouragement to take entry-level jobs and combine work and welfare in the short-term; and…

This guide focuses on these two key challenges that states and localities have identified as important for the long-term success of welfare reform and work force development efforts: helping low-income parents sustain employment (steady work) and advance in the work force (better jobs). The guide consists of five parts and is structured to…

The New Hope Project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was developed to reduce poverty and reform welfare by providing adults who are willing to work least 30 hours per week with the following: help obtaining a job, including time-limited, minimum wage community service jobs (CSJ) if full-time employment was not otherwise available; a monthly earnings…