| Using Carrots and Sticks
Haskins, Ron; Sawhill, Isabel
The American Prospect, May 2007, v18,#5, pp13-16
An effective approach to reducing poverty requires changes in personal
behavior as well as government support. By judiciously applying
policies that demand and then reward good behavior -- what might
be called carrots-and-sticks policies -- the authors maintain that
the behavior that leads to reduced poverty can be induced and maintained.
They review the record of the past decade and suggest principles
that should guide future efforts. These include expanding preschool
education; improving the public schools for students from poor families;
reducing non-marital births; increasing marriage rates; encouraging
savings; and helping poor young men improve their earnings. The
decline of poverty among female-headed families in the 1990s illustrates
the principles that should guide the nation's efforts. Isabel
Sawhill is Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Co-Director,
Center on Children and Families The Cabot Family Chair. Ron Haskins
is a Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Co-Director, Center on Children
and Families.
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C29/03-07. Posted May 12/07
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