Transferring income to families with children has long been a basic Canadian social policy. Though motivated by a range of goals, a central expectation has been that higher family income will lead to better child outcomes, especially in low-income families. This paper presents a synthesis of...

We explore the relationship between child outcomes and the source of family income using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The good mother hypothesis asserts that consumption of child-specific goods and child well-being may be superior in families in which mothers...

We use administrative data to provide a first look at the dynamics of social assistance use among lone mothers in Ontario between 1990 and 1994. The evidence is mixed concerning a "welfare trap." Welfare exit rates do decline during the first year of a spell but the support is weakest in our...