“There is an awful lot of advocacy and not much research”

UNC Economics professor Patrick Conway is right on target with his comment about what should come next for the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity — John Edwards’ old campaign stomping ground that’s now led by Gene Nichol. According to the Daily Tar Heel:

Patrick Conway, a professor of economics, told the board Friday he wanted more research done on poverty issues.

“There is an awful lot of advocacy and not much research,” Conway said.

“Obesity, low-income health — these are the things that are more research-based. As a strategy for the short run or long run, I’d like to see more of a balance.”

I suggest the Center start by reviewing this classic piece by James Q. Wilson. Emphasis is mine.

Almost everyone—a few retrograde scholars excepted—agrees that children in mother-only homes suffer harmful consequences: the best studies show that these youngsters are more likely than those in two-parent families to be suspended from school, have emotional problems, become delinquent, suffer from abuse, and take drugs. Some of these problems may arise from the economic circumstances of these one-parent families, but the best studies, such as those by Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandefur, show that low income can explain, at most, about half of the differences between single-parent and two-parent families. The rest of the difference is explained by a mother living without a husband.

And even the income explanation is a bit misleading, because single moms, by virtue of being single, are more likely to be poor than are married moms. Now that our social security and pension systems have dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly, growing up with only one parent has dramatically increased poverty among children. In this country we have managed to shift poverty from old folks to young folks. Former Clinton advisor William Galston sums up the matter this way: you need only do three things in this country to avoid poverty—finish high school, marry before having a child, and marry after the age of 20. Only 8 percent of the families who do this are poor; 79 percent of those who fail to do this are poor.

Individual behavior and decisions have huge consequences. It is not “judgmental” to point this out. It is factual. The UNC Center could take a major step forward in its work if it would advocate for changes in personal behavior, not just for programs and services.

Make no mistake: I support a strong social safety net that consists of help from government, churches, and neighbors. We must actively help those who can’t help themselves as part of our moral obligation as members of a civil, compassionate society. Equally important, however, is the acknowledgment that a solution begins with tangible changes in behavior so that fewer and fewer people find themselves mired in the terrible circumstances of poverty.