A potential self-reinforcing component in the dynamics of social assistance (SA) is analyzed in this paper. The core hypothesis is that the SA recipiency of others can assert a positive influence on an individual's propensity to apply for SA. The mechanisms through which such influence may operate are discussed and a set of hypotheses linking individual action and macro-level SA are proposed and tested by means of pooled cross-sections time-series analysis. Data on all individuals aged 20-25 in the Stockholm region who received SA in the years 1990-9 are used for the analyses. Results indicate that the level of SA in one year has a positive effect on the next year's inflow of new SA recipients and a negative effect on the outflow, even when other relevant factors are controlled for. This lends support to the hypothesis of a self-reinforcing process.
Åberg, Y. (2000) `Individual Social Action and Macro Level Dynamics: A Formal Theoretical Model' , Acta Sociologica43: 193-205 .
2.
Aguilar, R. and Gustafsson, B. (1989) Kommunerna och ekonomiskt bistånd. Göteborg: Göteborg University, Department of Economics.
3.
Arnott, R. and Stiglitz, J. E. (1991) `Moral Hazard and Nonmarket Institutions: Dysfunctional Crowding Out or Peer Monitoring?' , American Economic Review81: 179-190 .
4.
Arrow, K. J. (1963) `Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care' , American Economic Review53: 941-973 .
5.
Arslanogullari, S. (2000) Social Assistance in Sweden 1990-1995. Working paper 2000: 2. Uppsala: Uppsala University, Department of Economics .
6.
Bergmark, Å. (1991) Socialbidrag och försörjning. Rapport 55. Stockholm: Stockholm University, Department of Social Work.
7.
Bergmark, Å. (2000) `Socialbidragen under 1990-talet', in Välfärd och försörjning, SOU (Governmental Commission Report) 2000: 40. Stockholm: Fritzes.
8.
Bergmark, Å. and Sandgren, P. (1998) Vilka faktorer bestämmer socialbidragskostnaderna? En analys av kommunala variationer. Stockholm: National Board of Health and Welfare.
9.
Bertrand, M. , Luttmer, E. F. P. and Mullainathan, S. (2000) `Network Effects and Welfare Cultures' , Quarterly Journal of Economics115: 1019-1056 .
10.
Bott, E. (1957) Family and Social Network. London: Tavistock .
11.
Bridge, G. (2002) The Neighborhood and Social Networks. CNR Paper 4. Bristol: Centre for Neighbourhood Research .
12.
Brooks-Gunn, J. , Duncan, G. J. and Aber, J. L. (eds) (1997) Neighborhood Poverty: Context and Consequences for Children. New York: Russell Sage Foundation .
13.
Byberg, I. (1998) Arbetsmetoder och socialbidrag. Stockholm: National Board of Health and Welfare.
14.
Byberg, I. (2001) Kontroll eller handlingsfrihet? En studie av organiseringens betydelse i socialbidragsarbetet. Stockholm: Stockholm University, Department of Social Work.
15.
Campbell, K. and Lee. B. (1992) `Sources of Personal Neighbor Networks: Social Integration, Need, or Time?' , Social Forces70: 1077-1100 .
16.
Cialdini, R. B. (1984) Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Quill .
17.
Coleman, J. S. (1986) `Social Theory, Social Research, and a Theory of Action' , American Journal of Sociology91: 1309-1335 .
18.
Coleman, J. S. , Katz, E. and Menzel, H. (1966) Medical Innovation: a Diffusion Study. New York: Bobbs-Merrill .
19.
Crane, J. (1991) `The Epidemic Theory of Ghettos and Neighborhood Effects on Dropping Out and Teenage Childbearing' , American Journal of Sociology96: 1226-1235 .
20.
Crane, J. (1996) `Optimal Resource Allocation Strategies for Reducing the Incidence of Contagious Social Problems' , Journal of Socio-Economics25: 245-269 .
21.
Elster, J. (1989) Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
22.
Festinger, L. (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press .
23.
Festinger, L. , Schachter S. and Back, K. (1967) Social Pressures in Informal Groups: A Study of Human Factors in Housing. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press .
24.
Finkel, S. E. (1995) Causal Analysis with Panel Data (Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
25.
Fischer C. S. (1982) To Dwell Among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press .
26.
Granovetter, M. (1974) Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .
27.
Guest, A. M. and Weirzbicki, S. K. (1999) `Social Ties at the Neighborhood Level' , Urban Affairs Review35: 92-111 .
28.
Gustafsson, B. (1983) Socialhjälpens bestämningsfaktorer. DSF projekt 1983: 1. Stockholm: Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
29.
Gustafsson, B. (1987) `Som ett isberg? Om underutnyttjande av socialbidrag' Nordisk Sosialt Arbeid 3: 43-51.
30.
Gustafsson, B. (2002) `Assessing Non-Use of Social Assistance' , European Journal of Social Work5: 149-158 .
31.
Halleröd, B. (1988) Socialbidragstagande i kommunerna 1980 och 1985. Umeå University: Department of Sociology.
32.
Halleröd, B. (1991) Den svenska fattigdomen. Lund: Arkiv.
33.
Hedström, P. (1998) `Rational Imitation', in P. Hedström and R. Swedberg (eds) Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory, pp. 306-327. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
34.
Hsiao, C. (1995) `Panel Analysis for Metric Data', in G. Arminger , C. C. Clogg and M. E. Sobel (eds) Handbook of Statistical Modeling for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, pp. 361-367. New York: Plenum Press .
35.
Hydén, L. C., Kyhle-Westermark, P. and Stenberg, S.-Å. (1995) Att besluta om socialbidrag. Stockholm: Report 1, Centre for Evaluation of Social Work.
36.
Jonsson, G. (1969) Det sociala arvet. Stockholm: Tiden.
37.
Jonsson, J. O. (1991) `De lågutbildade-en ny underklass?', Sociologisk forskning 28: 44-64.
38.
Jonsson, J. O. (2001) `Towards a Post-Fordist Life-Course Regime? Generational Changes in Transition and Volatility', in J. O. Jonsson and C. Mills (eds) Cradle to Grave: Life-Course Change in Modern Sweden, pp. 1-28. Durham: Sociologypress .
39.
Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1982) `Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases', in D. Kahneman , P. Slovic and A. Tversky (eds): Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, pp. 3-20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
40.
Korpi, W. (1971) Fattigdom i välfärden. Stockholm: Tiden.
41.
Korpi, T. (1998) The Unemployment Process: Studies of Search, Selection and Social Mobility in the Labor Market. Stockholm: Stockholm University, Department of Sociology .
42.
Kuran, T. (1995) Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .
43.
Leisering, L. and Leibfried, S. (2001) Time and Poverty in Western Welfare States (2nd edn.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
44.
Lindbeck, A. (1995) `The End of the Middle Way? The Large Welfare States of Europe: Hazardous Welfare-State Dynamics' , American Economic Review, AEA Papers and Proceedings85: 9-15 .
45.
Mayer, K. U. and Müller, W. (1986) `The State and the Structure of the Life Course', in A. B. Sørensen , F. E. Weinert and L. R. Sherrod (eds): Human Development: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, pp. 217-245. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .
46.
Mayer, S. and Jencks, C. (1989) `Growing Up in Poor Neighborhoods: How Much Does it Matter?' , Science243: 1441-1445 .
47.
Merton, R. K. (1968) Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press .
48.
Minas, R. and Stenberg, S.-Å. (2000) På tröskeln till bidrag. Mottagningen av nya socialbidragsansökningar på sju socialkontor i Sverige. Stockholm: Centre for Evaluation of Social Work.
49.
Moffitt, R. (1983) `An Economic Model of Welfare Stigma' , American Economic Review73: 1023-1035 .
50.
Moffitt, R. (2001) `Policy Interventions, Low-level Equilibria and Social Interactions', in S. Durlauf and P. H. Young (eds): Social Dynamics, pp. 45-82. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
51.
van Oorschot, W. (1995) Take It or Leave it: a Study of Non-Take-Up of Social Security Benefits. Tilburg: Tilburg University Press .
52.
Pauly, M. V. (1968) `The Economics of Moral Hazard: Comment' , American Economic Review58: 531-537 .
53.
Puide, A. (1985) Klienterna och socialtjänsten. Stockholm: Stockholm University, Department of Social Work.
54.
Salonen, T. (2002) `Ungdomars socialbidragstagande och försörjningssvårigheter under 1990-talet', in Välfärd och försörjning, SOU (Governmental Commission Report) 2000: 40. Stockholm: Fritzes.
55.
Sampson, R. J. , Morenoff, J. D. and Gannon-Rowley, T. (2002) `Assessing “Neighborhood Effects”: Social Processes and New Directions in Research' , Annual Review of Sociology28: 443-478 .
56.
Schröder, L. (2000) Ungdomsarbetslösheten i ett internationellt perspektiv. Uppsala: IFAU Research Report 2000: 4.
57.
Socialstyrelsen (National Board of Health and Welfare) (1999) Långvarigt socialbidragstagande under 1990-talet. Rapport 1999: 5.
58.
SOU (Governmental Commission Report) (1999) Ökade socialbidrag: en studie om inkomster och socialbidrag ären 1990 till 1996. SOU 1999: 46. Delbetänkande av Socialtjänstutredningen. Stockholm: Fakta Info Direkt.
59.
SOU (Governmental Commission Report) (2000) Välfärd vid vägskäl: utvecklingen under 1990-talet. SOU 2000: 3. Delbetänkande av Kommittén Välfärdsbokslut. Stockholm: Fritzes.
60.
Starrin, B. (2001) `Skammen, självet och den sociala underordningen', in G. Aronsson and J. Ch. Karlsson (eds) Tillitens ansikten, pp. 48-80. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
61.
Stenberg, S.-Å . (1998) `Unemployment and Economic Hardship: a Combined Macro-and Micro-Level Analysis of the Relationship Between Unemployment and Means-Tested Social Assistance in Sweden' , European Sociological Review14: 1-13 .
62.
Stenberg, S.-Å . (2000) `Inheritance of Welfare Recipiency: an Intergenerational Study of Social Assistance Recipiency in Postwar Sweden' , Journal of Marriage and the Family62: 228-239 .
63.
Szulkin, R. (1981) `Socialhjälpsfrekvensens bestämningsfaktorer', Sociologisk Forskning 4: 3-11.
64.
Theandersson, C. (1999) `Ungdom och arbete i en urban välfärdskontext', in M. Wrede Jäntti, R. Póris-dóttir and C. Theandersson, Ungdomars erfarenhet av arbetslöshet i Helsingfors, Reykjavik och Göteborg-en kvalitativ studie. Tema Nord Rapport 1999: 552. Köpenhamn: Nordisk Ministerråd.
65.
Wellman, B. (1990) `Different Strokes for Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support' , American Journal of Sociology96: 558-588 .
66.
Wellman, B. (1996) `Are Personal Communities Local? A Dumptarian Reconsideration' , Social Networks18: 347-354 .
