The Visiting Speaker Series is an opportunity for invited researchers and professionals, external to the University of Guelph, to present their research topic(s) to faculty and students. On May 12, the Department of Economics and Finance will welcome Shari Eli from the University of Toronto to speak on "Marrying the Right Man: The Effects of Cash Transfers on the Behavior and Outcomes of Poor Mothers ." Anyone from the University of Guelph is welcome to attend.

Abstract

We investigate the effect of the Mothers’ Pension (MP) Program, operating between 1911 and 1935, on the life experience of recipient mothers. We examine women whose outcomes can be traced by linking administrative records of the MP program to the 1940 census, marriage certificates, birth certificates and death certificates. We assess if receiving a pension affected re-marriage rates, time to re-marriage, characteristics of new spouses (new spousesí education, income and SES background), and subsequent fertility. We also investigate if mothers were subsequently more likely to work, if her own mortality was affected and how the mothers’ decisions relate to her childrenís outcomes. Comparing those accepted by MP to the rejected, we find that MP pensions did not affect re-marriage rates, which were low – approximately 25%. However, women receiving transfers took an average of 4.7 years to find a new spouse, 1.7 years longer than those denied an MP pension.