This important and timely work provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the American welfare system from an economic, legal, historical, and policy perspective. This volume reviews the historical origins of the American welfare system, the Constitutional development of welfare law and entitlements, and the economic structure and effects of welfare based on a large national data set covering the period 1979 through 1990. The book includes policy analyses and recommendations for reform. The scope of coverage and currency of this volume makes it an indispensable reference work for policymakers, students, scholars, and analysts of welfare.