Abstract :
The central research question addressed in this
article is how receipt of income support payments
affects the well-being of youths. Using
1997–2004 panel data from a nationally representative
survey of Australian youths, we attempt
to estimate the size of the welfare stigma
faced by Australian youths, where stigma is defined
as the effect of welfare receipt on reported
happiness levels. In analysing the
determinants of happiness, we argue that it is
important to control for dynamics and initial
conditions. The latter arguably measures an
initial setpoint of happiness which the psychology
literature has found strong support for. In
contrast to the general findings of the existence
of a welfare stigma for adults, based on our results
using dynamic panel probit models, our
findings suggest that for Australian youths
there is a small negative, but not statistically
significant, stigma associated with welfare receipt.
