Effects of the 1990s Welfare Reform on Intergenerational Mobility

• Author: Jade Fang
• Advisor: YingHua He, Ph.D.
• Institution: Rice University
• Description: This repository houses the necessary code to replicate results shown in my senior thesis.

Table of contents

code folder

This folder houses the project's R scripts and Stata do-files. To replicate the results, please execute the scripts in the following order:

• family_cleaning.R: this script performs the preliminary data cleaning procedures to prepare the raw family-level data set for merging and further cleaning.
• indiv_cleaning.R: this script performs the preliminary data cleaning procedures to prepare the raw individual-level data set for merging and further cleaning.
• state_controls.do: this script cleans and merges various state-level data sets.
• init_merging.R: this script merges the family- and individual-level data sets to identify household heads. It also merges in state-level controls.
• exposure.R: this script matches individuals with their mothers when the individual was under the age of 18. It also creates a variable for exposure to welfare reform in this period.
• main_merging.R: this script matches individuals with their mothers when the individual reaches adulthood. It also merges in childhood-period data, individual wage data, and state-level controls.
• wage_distribution.do: this script constructs national wage distributions by birth cohort at the age of 40.
• ranking.R: this script ranks the lifetime earnings each individual and their mother on their corresponding birth cohort's wage distribution at 40 years old. It also creates a separate data set for the placebo group.
• data_cleaning.do: this script performs remaining data cleaning needed after constructing the main data set. It also cleans the separate data set for the placebo group.
• data_visualization.do: this script generates various charts to show key distributions and trends over time.
• data_visualization for robustness.do: this script generates various charts to show key distributions and trends over time, specifically for the placebo group.
• data_analysis.do: this script generates summary statistics and runs regressions of various specifications.
• robustness_checks.do: this script runs regressions on data based on an alternative rank specification and data on the placebo group.

data folder

This folder should house the project's data and codebook files. Currently, the data and codebook files are stored in a separate DropBox folder and are available upon request.

• family.xlsx: family-level data. Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics.
• number.xlsx: data on number of individuals in each family. Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics.
• individual.xlsx: individual-level data. Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics.
• pid_mar_emp.xlsx: individual-level family mapping, marriage, and employment data. Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics.
• indiv_wages.xlsx: individual-level data on wages. Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics.
• DPCERD3A086NBEA.csv: national-level data on the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) deflator by year. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
• ben_data.txt: state-level data unemployment and population data used to calculate state-level unemployment rate. Source: Robert Moffitt's Welfare Benefits Data Base.
• UKCPR_National_Welfare_Data_Update_020623.xlsx: state-level data on policy environment. Source: University of Kentucky Center of Poverty Research.
• JPE-MS-2017407_state-level_data.dta: state-level data on AFDC/TANF recipiency and benefit standards. Source: replication package for the journal article "Welfare Reform and the Intergenerational Transmission of Dependence" (2022) by Robert Paul Hartley, Carlos Lamarche, and James P. Ziliak.
• cps_00001.dat: individual-level poverty and population data used to calculate state-level poverty rate. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
• cps_00004.dat: individual-level wage data used to construct cohort-specific national wage distributions. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.