Social, human, and personal capital in relation to workforce participation: The employment potential of low income mothers.

摘要

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) mandates that participants engage in employment related activities within two years or face sanctions with loss of benefits. Although there was a large decline in the number of families receiving cash assistance after the implementation of TANF, many women struggled with the transition to work. Furthermore, researchers continue to debate how much of the drop in receipt of cash benefits should be attributed to TANF and how much to a strong job market. In view of the possibility that a downturn in the job market could lead to a loss of employment, it would be important to understand the personal factors associated with a person's capacity to stay in the workforce.;The object of this study was to look at the individual employment potential of low income mothers. Data were obtained in a previous study of Medicaid-eligible women in prenatal/postnatal care. The theoretical basis was a framework which classified personal characteristics, arising from the life course of individuals, into groupings of assets associated with employment. Groupings were social, human, and personal capital. Predictor variables serving as indicators of capital were developed from the data. The dependent variable was entry/reentry into employment 12 months after giving birth. The overarching hypothesis for this study was controlling for age, race, marital status, and intervention group assignment, the greater amount of social, human, and personal capital possessed by Medicaid-eligible women upon entry into a prenatal/postnatal treatment program, the greater the chance of their being employed 12 months after giving birth. Data used were collected at program entry and 12 months after giving birth, by interviewers who did not know intervention group assignments.;Pearson bivariate analysis was used to select the best indicators from the predicted variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the effects of the predictors. Results showed that the number of years of education completed and prior employment—representing human capital, and self-esteem—representing personal capital, were the only significant predictors. The dependent variable was predicted from the observed data with 69.2 percent accuracy.