NBER Conference: Call For Papers

The Impact of Recent Federal and State Reforms in Public Assistance and Social Insurance Programs


On May 14 and 15, 1999, the National Bureau of Economic Research will hold a Universities' Research Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the economic impact of recent federal and state reforms in public assistance and social insurance programs.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION

The program is being organized by Professor Hilary Hoynes of the University of California and the NBER and Professor Jonathan Skinner of Dartmouth College and the NBER and will consist of seven or eight papers with formal discussants for each paper. There will be no published proceedings, but the conference will be summarized in the NBER Reporter.

CONFERENCE THEME

During the past decade, there have been dramatic reforms in the way that governments provide income assistance to households and in the structure of intergovernmental incentives for transfer programs. Changes in the structure of public assistance, mandated increase in Medicaid spending, shifts in federal funding rules for Medicare and Medicaid, changes in the earned income tax credit, and potential Social Security reform are just a few examples for the United States. How do these changes, and similar changes taking place in other countries, affect economic behavior in terms of labor supply, savings, marriage, fertility, retirement, health, and individual or family well-being?

SELECTION PROCESS

In keeping with the Bureau's tradition, priority will be given to empirically oriented research. Applied theoretical research on substantive topics related to the conference is also welcome. We encourage submissions from researchers early in their careers and also from non-NBER affiliates.

Papers will be selected on the basis of abstracts of about 500 words or papers, with a strong preference for papers. Any research that will not be published at the time of the conference can be submitted. The deadline for submissions is February 12, 1999. Authors chosen to present papers will be notified by March 5, 1999. Final drafts of papers will be due at the NBER on April 5, 1999. The NBER will pay the domestic travel and hotel expenses of those chosen to present or discuss papers at the conference.

Please send three copies of your abstracts or papers to :

Professor Hilary Hoynes
Professor Jonathan Skinner
National Bureau of Economic Research
1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138

You may also email your submissions to: confer@nber.org in a pdf or WordPerfect file. US paper format only please.


Return to the CILN main page
Comments may be made to ciln@mcmaster.ca