Sarah Halpern‐Meekin, Jill Hoiting, Ruby Mendenhall, Michelle Spiegel
{"title":"“When I Can Make Them Smile”: Cash Transfers and the Joys of Mothering in the Context of Poverty","authors":"Sarah Halpern‐Meekin, Jill Hoiting, Ruby Mendenhall, Michelle Spiegel","doi":"10.1002/pam.70103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70103","url":null,"abstract":"Poverty researchers focus on whether interventions relieve material hardships and the stresses of financial insecurity. Although these are essential outcomes, a narrow focus on them can limit the evaluation of policy effectiveness. Further, the predominant focus in the field on individual outcomes may miss how policy matters for family relationships. The present study takes a relational perspective and attends to positive policy outcomes such as joy. It uses the case of unconditional cash transfers to show the joys of mothering and the role of such policy interventions in these experiences. From the Baby's First Years study, we analyze interviews with 80 women, who were living below the poverty line at their child's birth; 65% identified as Black. We highlight how mothers use the cash transfer money to create opportunities for joy and bonding in their mutually rewarding relationships with their children. We show how financial resources serve purposes beyond meeting material needs and as human‐capital investments. Financial resources are also conduits for relationship building and family flourishing, including through joy. To holistically assess policy impacts requires a comprehensive picture that allows scholars and policymakers to understand how government programs can help families not just survive but thrive.","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147519210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"APPAM Announcements","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/pam.70100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70100","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147518833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Notes from the Editor","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/pam.70105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70105","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147519294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is a More Universal Child Tax Credit the Right Pathway to Reduce Child Poverty? Insights Drawing From the National Academy of Sciences Report","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/pam.70096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70096","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Case for a Universal Child Tax Credit","authors":"Katherine Michelmore","doi":"10.1002/pam.70095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70095","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Counterpoint: Magnitude of Labor Supply Effects of a Permanent Universal CTC Are Uncertain","authors":"Katherine Michelmore","doi":"10.1002/pam.70099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70099","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"101 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Child Tax Credit: Targeting Should Be Preserved","authors":"Harry J. Holzer","doi":"10.1002/pam.70098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70098","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Counterpoint: Response to Katherine Michelmore on Universal vs. Targeted Child Tax Credits","authors":"Harry J. Holzer","doi":"10.1002/pam.70102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70102","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Going Local: The Value of Research on Local Government Policies and Programs","authors":"Ingrid Gould Ellen","doi":"10.1002/pam.70097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70097","url":null,"abstract":"In their early years, schools of public policy focused on federal policies and programs, as did APPAM and its journal, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. While this federal bias has diminished over time, it hasn't entirely gone away. This essay makes the case for more attention to local government policies and programs. It argues that studying local government policies and management can deliver unique value. First local governments perform essential, and salient functions that shape people's views of government performance. Second, local governments offer substantial variation in policy design, implementation, and context that researchers can study and from which they can draw lessons. Third, there is considerable demand from local governments for policy and management research, as they typically lack the resources to do much themselves. Fourth, research on local governments arguably has a better chance of influencing actual decision making. Finally, local governments offer uniquely rich administrative data that can provide insights on long‐run impacts, heterogeneity, and spillovers.","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147470978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Oludamilare Aboaba, Aaron Chalfin, Michael LaForest‐Tucker, Lucie Parker, Patrick Sharkey
{"title":"Can Crime Be Deterred at Low Cost? Evidence From a Randomized Experiment in New York","authors":"Oludamilare Aboaba, Aaron Chalfin, Michael LaForest‐Tucker, Lucie Parker, Patrick Sharkey","doi":"10.1002/pam.70092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.70092","url":null,"abstract":"Can crime be deterred at low cost? We report the results of a randomized experiment of a messaging intervention designed to deter offending among individuals under parole supervision with a prior violent felony conviction or firearm arrest. The intervention consisted of a group meeting in which high‐risk paroled individuals were notified of the sanction they would face upon reoffending while being offered community resources to support re‐integration into the community. The program did not lead to a notable reduction in future arrests or create community spillover effects but did reduce parole violations by 15%. Potential mechanisms and implications for similar programs are discussed.","PeriodicalId":48105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147447136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}