Welfare to work in the US: A model for other developed nations?

The 1996 U.S. welfare reform legislation established the Temporary Assistan ce for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF represents the ascendance of the view that market work should be substituted for benefit recipiency. We des cribe the problems inherent in U.S. social welfare policy prior to TANF (em phasizing its serious labor supply disincentives), catalogue the wide varie ty of economic changes implicit in TANF, and describe the policies undertak en by the state of Wisconsin, a leader in implementing the new federal poli cy. We conclude by asking if this U.S. reform can serve as a model for othe r nations.