Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor and We Might Buy Them Dinner: Social Capital, Immigration, and Welfare Generosity in the American States

• Author: Daniel P. Hawes,Austin Michael McCrea
• Published date: 01 June 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912917738576
• Date: 01 June 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917738576

Political Research Quarterly

2018, Vol. 71(2) 347 –360

© 2017 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912917738576

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Article

Introduction

In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and

Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). One

major implication of the legislation was that the benefit

program Aid to Families With Dependent Children

(AFDC) was replaced with Temporary Aid for Needy

Families (TANF). Welfare reform allowed states to exer-

cise significant discretion in welfare decisions, including

eligibility and benefit levels. Welfare reform was hailed

by proponents as a success as states witnessed significant

declines in welfare rolls in the years following reform.

However, little existing research has developed a theo-

retical understanding of the mechanisms by which immi-

gration and social capital relate to, and affect social

welfare programs.

We provide a theoretical explanation for how social

capital shapes welfare generosity and how this relation-

ship is conditioned by immigration. In this paper, we ask

three questions. First, what is the relationship between

social capital and welfare generosity? Second, how do

increases in immigration affect state welfare generosity?

And finally, does social capital operate differently with

respect to its effects on welfare generosity under different

immigration contexts?

Social Capital: Society’s Lubricant

Social capital has been described as the glue that holds

communities together and acts as a social lubricant that

helps society function more smoothly (Anderson and

Jack 2002; Grootaert 1998). The most prominent defini-

tion comes from Robert Putnam who conceptualizes

social capital as “connections among individuals” or

“social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trust-

worthiness that arise from them” (Putnam 2000, 19).

Social norms and social trust are central to the develop-

ment and maintenance of social capital. It is these norms

738576PRQXXX10.1177/1065912917738576Political Research QuarterlyHawes and McCrea

research-article2017

1Kent State University, OH, USA

2Texas A&M University, College Station, USA

Corresponding Author:

Daniel P. Hawes, Department of Political Science, Kent State

University, Bowman Hall 302, Kent, OH 44242-0001, USA.

Email: dhawes2@kent.edu

Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor and

We Might Buy Them Dinner: Social

Capital, Immigration, and Welfare

Generosity in the American States

Daniel P. Hawes1 and Austin Michael McCrea2

Abstract

A long-standing debate persists regarding how social capital relates to diversity and inequality in the American states.

Putnam argues social capital leads to greater equality and tolerance; however, others find that it increases racial inequality.

We build on Soss, Fording, and Schram’s Racial Classification Model (RCM) and theorize that social capital enhances social

trust and empathy in homogeneous contexts and favors paternalistic and punitive social controls in diverse contexts. We

test this using the case of immigration and welfare generosity following the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. Using state-level data from 1997 to 2009, we find that under conditions of low

immigration, social capital is associated with increased social trust and empathy; however, as immigration increases, social

capital pivots toward favoring mechanisms of social control. Specifically, social capital increases Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families (TANF) cash benefit levels, but only when immigration levels are low. In high-immigration contexts, social

capital is associated with decreased welfare generosity.

Keywords

social capital, immigration, welfare, inequality, diversity