The Relationship Between Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Locations, Changing Welfare Policies, and the Employment of Single Mothers

We use individual-level monthly data and a difference-in-difference approach to analyze the relationship between changing welfare policies, the employment of single mothers, and living in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. We find that welfare reform is playing a major role in raising the employment rates of single mothers and the gains are approximately as high in non-metropolitan areas as in metropolitan areas.