This article explores the links between welfare participation and broader forms of political
involvement. Adopting a political learning perspective, I present evidence that policy designs …

Welfare sanctions are financial penalties applied to individuals who fail to comply with
welfare program rules. Their widespread use reflects a turn toward disciplinary approaches to …

… Joe Soss is associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(soss@polisci.wisc.edu). The authors thank Kristi Andersen, Keith Bybee, Andrea Campbell, …

Disciplining the Poor explains the transformation of poverty governance over the past forty
years—why it happened, how it works today, and how it affects people. In the process, it …

This article analyzes the strategic use of public policy as a tool for reshaping public opinion.
In the 1990s, “progressive revisionists” argued that, by reforming welfare, liberals could free …

Large numbers of Americans claim public resources and participate in direct relationships
with government through the diversity of welfare programs found in the United States. Most …

In this article, we seek to advance scholarship on the origins and consequences of policy
devolution by analyzing state decisions to give local authorities control over welfare policy. The …

Drawing on participant observation, in-depth interviews, and statistical analysis of administrative
data, this article explores the operation of performance management in the Florida …

This article investigates how experiences with public policies affect levels of civic and political
engagement among the poor. Studies of “policy feedback” investigate policies not just as …

The landmark welfare legislation of 1996 offers students of politics a unique opportunity to
pinpoint the determinants of state-level policy choices-a case in which the fifty states …