Marriage Patterns of TANF Recipients: Evidence from Work First New Jersey. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research

Abstract

Based on four rounds of annual follow-up surveys with an early group of NJ TANF recipients, this brief can help inform recent policy debates related to welfare and marriage. The study found that marriage is relatively rare for TANF recipients, with only about 1 in 10 married and living with a spouse four to five years after entering the program. However, those who do marry fare better economically, primarily because their husbands typically worked and made substantial contributions to family income. However, the marital breakup rate was more than double the rate for marriages nationally, suggesting that the economic benefits of marriage may be short-lived.