The thesis deals with changes in attitude towards the US welfare state in the 1980s and 1990s, when its classical (liberal) concept was outshined by a more rational attitude of conservatism. Through a reduction in the number of welfare recipients President Reagan wanted to terminate the growth trend in the cost of social security. His provisions, however, caused a reduction in work incentives of welfare recipients and a significant decline in income of these people. Along with measures positively motivating to work President Clinton limited eligibility for social benefits and caused significant changes in the behavior of groups of people most dependent on these revenues. Analysis in the last part is focused on the effects of these measures on American society and changes in the well-being of various groups of the population. Findings show that Clinton was able to exploit the good economic conditions of the late 20th century better than Reagan. His social reform caused a more significant decrease in the number of those receiving social benefits, which was also accompanied by improvements in living conditions of US citizens - by growing self-sufficiency through increased labor participation and a decrease in poverty.

This project employed a descriptive case study methodology guided by rational choice theory to examine the financial feasibility of marriage for low income women. By modeling the income and expenses of eight different low income family types in six states (Arizona, California, New York, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin) this study illustrates the financial situation of various low income families. The family types under investigation include: a single parent family, a family receiving TANF, cohabiting couple with two wage earners, cohabiting couple with one wage earner, a married family with two wage earners, a married couple with one wage earner, a unmarried couple with an infant (unmarried fragile family), and a married couple with an infant (married fragile family). The income of each family type was calculated at two different wage levels (minimum and low wage for each state under investigation). Income included the welfare benefits and subsidies each of the family's is likely to receive (including child care subsidies and tax credits). The expenses of each family were calculated based on the size of the family and the cost of expenses such as housing and food expenditures. This study found that of the models presented here married families are not always financially better off when compared to single parent and cohabiting families. These findings demonstrate that if policy makers wish to support marriage among low income families they should first make marriage financially feasible for unmarried couples (particularly cohabiting couples) and create greater economic stability for couples that are already married. By providing consistent work supports (e.g. child care and health insurance), expanding programs that help low income families (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit), creating poverty measures that accurately reflect the real situation of low income families, and increasing the wages of low income workers, policy makers will create an environment where it is financially feasible for low income couples to marry and remain married.

Limited government supports under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 could cause low-income immigrants to struggle with housing affordability. Thus, this study examined housing challenges of Asian and Pacific Island elders, focusing on government assistance, and demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics. The research framework was based on the theory of housing adjustment (Morris & Winter, 1975, 1978). When investigating housing challenges, housing satisfaction was considered a representative term, as the dependent variable. The sample was Asian and Pacific Island households with a head 65+ who responded to the American Housing Survey (AHS) from 1995 through 2007 (N = 1,039). Asian and Pacific Island elders included those who lived in the U.S. for a long time as well as recent immigrants. Several statistical methods were employed: descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, crosstabs, multiple regression, and simple regression. Overall housing satisfaction level of the sample tended to be high from 1995 to 2007. However, there was no statistically significant impact of the PRWORA of 1996 on housing satisfaction and on the government assistance, and demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics of Asian and Pacific Island elders since 1996. Variables influencing satisfaction levels, and thus housing challenges, included qualifying for Food Stamps, education, family income, Census region, household size, housing quality, structure size, and neighborhood rating. Other significant findings included the impact of government assistance, geographical location and household size by year. An additional value of this study are the profiles of demographic, housing, and neighborhood characteristics and government assistance of Asian and Pacific Island elders from 1995 to 2007. Data analyses with the secondary datasets can assist housing researchers, educators, nonprofit organizations, or policymakers in their future studies or policies. / Ph. D.

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