ECONOMIC ROULETTE

Abstract

Complementing previous literature on welfare reform and the character of jobs in the low-wage labour market, we illustrate the lack of regularity and security that mark the jobs held by many low-income mothers. To do so, we present a typology of mothers’ work patterns and illustrate their experiences through case examples. Our qualitative analysis of longitudinal pathways-to-work in three cities involved an examination of the experiences of 99 diverse, low-income working mothers with a young child. The work patterns that emerged from this analysis include: continuous duration of a single job; multiple job spells; underemployment; and churning in and out of employment. Findings indicate that a complicated ‘coming together’ of well-paying stable jobs, consistent aid from public systems and stable family networks are necessary for mothers to take even the first steps into stable employment.

Para complementar la literature previa sobre reformes de asistencia social y el carácter de trabajo en el mercado laboral de sueldo bajo, ilustramos la falta de regularidad y seguridad que tipifican los puestos de trabajo de muchas madres de bajos ingresos. A este fin, presentamos una tipología de pautas laborales para estas madres e ilustramos sus experiencias dando casos de ejemplo. Nuestra análisis cualitativo de caminos al trabajo longitudinales en tres ciudades supuso un examen de las experiencias de 99 diversas madres de bajos ingresos y con un hijo pequeño. Las pautas laborales que salen de este análisis incluyen: duración contínua de un solo trabajo; multiples temporadas de trabajo; subempleo; y giro contínuo de empleo a desempleo. Los resultados indican que es necesaria una reunión complicada de pautas de trabajos estables y bien remunerados, ayuda constante de sistemas públicos y redes familiares estables para que las madres puedan tomar hasta los primeros pasos hacia empleo estable.

Keywords:

• poverty
• welfare
• jobs

Keywords:

• probveza
• asistencia social
• trabajos

The project from which data here was drawn is a collaborative effort, and the authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the co-principal investigators of the study: Ronald J. Angel, Linda M. Burton, P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Andrew Cherlin, Robert Moffitt and William Julius Wilson. We also wish to acknowledge the team of senior ethnographers, Laura Lein, Debra Skinner and Constance Williams who, along with site director Monica McManus, supervised the ethnographic fieldwork in San Antonio, Boston and Chicago. We extend special thanks to our 210-member ethnographic team, which spans five institutions—The Pennsylvania State University, Harvard University, Brandeis University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin—and most importantly to the families who have graciously participated in the project and have given us access to their lives. We gratefully acknowledge the funders of Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Office of Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services; Administration on Developmental Disabilities, US Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Office of Policy, Social Security Administration; The National Institute of Mental Health; The Boston Foundation; The Annie E. Casey Foundation; The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation; The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; The Joyce Foundation; The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; The W. K. Kellogg Foundation; Kronkosky Charitable Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; The David and Lucille Packard Foundation; Searle Fund for Policy Research; and The Woods Fund of Chicago.

Notes

1. In the PRWORA legislation, ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ replaced the programme titled ‘Aid for Families with Dependent Children’. The name change accompanied a significant change in the programme's mission — from serving those who were ‘entitled’ to benefits because of their needs to a programme expected to provide ‘temporary assistance’ to those who are eligible and whose right to such assistance would pass with time.

2. States, however, had ‘broad discretion in defining these requirements, and there [was] no apparent penalty for failure to satisfy them’ (Greenberg & Savnor, 1996, p. 39).

3. ‘Alternative work’ refers to the jobs of ‘temporary help, independent contractors, on-call workers, and contract company workers’ (Lane et al., p. 1).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laura Lein

Laura Lein, PhD, is Professor in the School of Social Work and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a social anthropologist whose work has concentrated on the interface between families in poverty and the institutions that serve them. She received her doctorate in social anthropology from Harvard University in 1973. She is continuing work on the ethnographic component of the project ‘Welfare Children, and families: A Three-City Study’ from which this paper draws. She is the author, with Kathryn Edin, of Making ends meet: How single mothers survive welfare and low-wage work (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1997). Since then she has begun new work with Edin on low-income, non-residential fathers, which has already resulted in several publications. She is also continuing work on the experience of welfare reform among groups in Texas and on the experience of poverty among families living in the Monterrey/San Antonio corridor. She teaches in the areas of social welfare policy and qualitative research methods. Address: School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station D3500, Austin, TX 78712, USA. [email: [email protected]]

Alan F. Benjamin

Alan F. Benjamin, PhD, is a Lecturer in Jewish Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Benjamin is a cultural anthropologist whose work has focused on identity, social boundaries and alterity among Jews and low-income families, and also has an interest in ethnographic methodology and research ethics. He was awarded a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997 and was the Project Coordinator for Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study from 1999 through 2003. He has written Jews of the Dutch Caribbean: Exploring ethnic identity on Curaçao (London: Routledge, 2002) and recently was Co-Principle Investigator for Health Research with Human Subjects: A Web-Based Course on Making Responsible Decisions for the US Department of Health and Human Services. Address: Jewish Studies, 108 Weaver Bldg., The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. [email: [email protected]]

Monica McManus

Monica McManus, PhD, is an adjunct instructor in the Intensive English Program at Moraine Valley Community College and an independent anthropological researcher and consultant. McManus specializes in cultural and linguistic anthropology. Her research has focused on communication in bureaucratic contexts—specifically, how differences in language, social status and ethnic identity influence communication and access to public resources. She has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the USA and Latin America. She earned her doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 2002. From 1999 to 2003 McManus was Field Research Coordinator and Site Director for the Chicago component of Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study. Since then, she has continued to work with the ethnographic data from the Chicago site. Additionally, she was a co-investigator for an ethnographic study and evaluation of a community gardening programme in Chicago through the Field Museum of Natural and has worked as a consultant on a project concerning low-income fathers in Chicago. Address: Intensive English, Language Program, Room B260, Moraine Valley Community College, 10900 S. 88th Ave., Palos Hills, IL 60465-0937, USA. [email: [email protected]]

Kevin Roy

Kevin Roy, PhD, Assistant Professor of Family Studies, University of Maryland. Roy's research examines the life course of men on the margins of families and the workforce. Through a mix of participant observation and life history interviews, he has explored the intersection of policy systems, such as welfare reform and incarceration, with parents’ caregiving and providing roles. His recent research focuses on the maintenance of intergenerational relationships, the emergence of men's generativity, and systems of social support among low-income and minority fathers. Roy has published in Social Problems, Journal of Family Issues and Family Relations, and has co-edited a recent volume, entitled Situated fathering: A focus on physical and social spaces. He received a PhD from the Human Development and Social Policy programme at Northwestern University in 1999. Address: 1204 Marie Mount Hall, Department of Family Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. [email: [email protected]]