%0 Report
        %A Celhay, Pablo
%A Meyer, Bruce D.
%A Mittag, Nikolas
        %T Stigma in Welfare Programs
        %D 2022
        %8 2022 Jul
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 15431
        %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp15431
        %X Stigma of welfare participation is important for policy and survey design, because it deters program take-up and increases misreporting. Stigma is also relevant to the literature on social image concerns, yet empirical evidence is scant because stigma is difficult to empirically identify. We use a novel approach to studying stigma by examining the relationship between program participation in a recipient's local network and underreporting program participation in surveys. We find a robust negative relationship and rule out explanations other than stigma. Stigma decreases when more peers engage in the stigmatized behavior and when such actions are less observable.
        %K welfare stigma
%K program participation
%K social networks
%K social image
%K peer effects