ON THE STIGMA EFFECT AND THE DEMAND FOR WELFARE PROGRAMS : A THEORETICAL NOTE Burton

Many factors influence the extent to which persons who are eligible for public (or private) aid program actually receive the aid. In predicting the degree of utilization of any particular aid program, a potentially important variable is the marginal stigma cost, the added stigma incurred by a person who accepts the benefits from an incremental aid program for which he is eligible. Empirical examination of marginal stigma costs is needed, as is \ greater attention to the relationship between the.se costs and the manner in which aid programs are designed' and administered. Interprogram variation in the difference between the present value of marginal benefits available to an eligible person and the present value of the marginal costs--including stigt1la costs-of obtaining the benefits, is likely to be at the root of the observed differences in the utilization rates for various aid programs. ON THE STIGMA EFFECT AND THE DEMAND FOR WELFARE PROGRAMS: A THEORETICAL NOTE