Using data compiled for the 50 states, this study examines state discretion in welfare programs by defining a set of programs that, in 1995, gave considerable discretion to the states and a set of programs that did not. It explores the effect of nonprofits on discretionary and non-discretionary programs. The study finds that the categorization of programs by degree of discretion is problematic at best, given different forms and avenues for discretion. It also finds that the nonprofit sector had its biggest impact on programs with the most mandates from the federal government.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlbrittonRobert B. (1989). Impacts of Intergovernmental Financial Incentives on State Welfare Policymaking and Interstate Equity.Publius, 19 (Spring): 127–141.
2.
AlbrittonRobert B. & BrownRobert D. (1986). Intergovernmental Impacts on Policy Variations within States: Effects of Local Discretion on General Assistance Programs.Policy Studies Review, 5 (Fall): 529–535.
3.
BarrilleauxCharles & MillerMark (1988). The Political Economy of State Medicaid Policy.American Political Science Review, 82 (December): 1089–1107.
4.
BeckerGary (1983). A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence.Quarterly Journal of Economics, 98 (August): 371–400.
5.
BorcherdingThomas (1985). The Causes of Government Expenditure Growth.Journal of Public Economics, 28 (December): 359–382.
6.
BrownRobert D. (1995). Party Cleavages and Welfare Effort in the American Sates.American Political Science Review, 89 (March): 23–33.
7.
BrowneW. P. (1989). The Aged Agenda in State Legislatures: A Comparative Perspective.Policy Studies Journal, 17 (Autumn): 495–513.
8.
CamobrecoJ. F. (1996). Medicaid and Collective Action.Social Science Quarterly, 77 (December): 860–876.
9.
DawsonRichard E. & RobinsonJames A. (1963). Inter-party Competition, Economic Variables, and Welfare Policies in the American States.Journal of Politics, 25 (May): 265–289.
10.
de VitaCarol J. (1999). Nonprofits and Devolution: What Do We Know? In ElizabethBoris and SteuerleC. Eugene (Ed.), Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict.Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.
11.
EriksonRobert S., WrightGerald C.Jr. & McIverJohn P. (1989). Political Parties, Public Opinion, and State Policy in the United States.American Political Science Review, 83 (September): 729–750.
12.
GroganColleen M. (1994). Political-economic Factors Influencing State Medicaid Policy.Political Science Quarterly, 47 (September): 589–622.
13.
HansonRussell L. (1984). Medicaid and the Politics of Redistribution.American Journal of Political Science, 28 (May): 313–339.
14.
Holbrook-ProvowThomas M. & PoeSteven C. (1987). Measuring State Political Ideology.American Politics Quarterly, 15 (July): 399–416.
15.
JenningsEdward T. (1979). Competition, Constituencies, and Welfare Policies in American States.American Political Science Review, 73 (June): 414–429.
16.
KamermanSheila B. & KahnAlfred J. (1988). Mothers Alone: Strategies for a Time of Change. Dover, MA: Auburn House Publishing Company.
17.
KatzMichael B. (1986). In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America.New York: Basic Books, Inc.
18.
KeyV. O.Jr. (1949). Southern Politics in State and Nation.New York: Random House.
19.
LipskyMichael. (1980). Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services.New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
20.
MillerCynthia (1996). Demographics and Spending for Public Education.Economics of Education Review, 15 (April): 175–185.
21.
PlotnickRobert D., & WintersRichard F. (1985). A Politico-economic Theory of Income Redistribution.American Political Science Review, 79 (June): 458–473.
22.
RanneyAustin (1976). Parties in State Politics. In HerbertJacob & VinesKenneth N., (Ed). Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis.Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
23.
SalamonL. M. (1995). Partners in Public Service: Government-Nonprofit Relations in the Modern Welfare State.Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
24.
SchneiderSaundra & JacobyWilliam G. (1996). Influences on Bureaucratic Policy Initiatives in the American States.Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 6(October): 495–522.
25.
SchneiderSaundra K., JacobyWilliam G. & CoggburnJerrell D. (1997). The Structure of Bureaucratic Decisions in the American States.Public Administration Review, 57 (May): 240–249.
26.
SmithGilbert. (1981). Discretionary Decision-making in Social Work. In MichaelAdler & StewartAsquith (Ed.), Discretion and Welfare.London: Heinemann Educational Books.
SparerM. S. (1996). Medicaid and the Limits of State Health Reform.Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
29.
TieboutCharles M. (1956). A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures.Journal of Political Economy, 64 (October): 416–24.
30.
TweedieJ. (1994). Resources Rather than Needs: A State Centered Model of Welfare Policymaking.American Journal of Political Science, 38(August): 651–672.
31.
UccelloCori E., McallumHeather R. & GallagherL. Jerome (1996). State General Assistance Programs.Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.
32.
United States General Accounting Office. (1995). Supplemental Security Income: Growth and Changes in Recipient Population Calls for Reexamining Program.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
33.
U.S. Bureau of Census (1996). Statistical ABSTRACT of the United States, 1996.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means. (1993). Overview of Entitlement Programs: 1993 Green Book.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
36.
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means. (1996). Overview of Entitlement Programs: 1996 Green Book.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
37.
WeisbrodB. A. (1988). The Nonprofit Economy.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
38.
WolchJ. R. (1990). The Shadow State: Government and Voluntary Sector in Transition. New York: The Foundation Center.
39.
YoungD. R. (1999). Complementary, Supplementary, or Adversarial? A Theoretical and Historical Examination of Nonprofit Government Relations in the United States. In ElizabethBoris & SteuerleC. Eugene (Ed.), Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.
40.
YoungK. (1981). Discretion as an Implementation Problem: A Framework for Interpretation. In MichaelAdler & StewartAsquith (Ed.), Discretion and Welfare.London: Heinemann Educational Books.
