Earned Income Tax Credit has real effect on intergenerational poverty

Now in print in the Journal of Human Resources: Ford School faculty members and Poverty Solutions Faculty Affiliate Katherine Michelmore, PS Associate Faculty Director Natasha Pilkauskas and their co-author analyzed household income data from 1968–2017. Their research found that children whose parents received the Earned Income Tax Credit were less likely to live in poverty or near poverty as adults. A $1,000 increase in average annual EITC exposure as kids led to a 5 percentage point decrease in likelihood of being at or near the poverty threshold in adulthood. This underscores the intergenerational economic benefits of the EITC. 

You can read the article here.

Faculty Expert

Katherine Michelmore

Professor of Public Policy

Michelmore is a leading scholar and educator on the social safety net, education policy, labor economics, and economic demography. She is a recognized expert on the efficacy of the Earned Income Tax Credit and its impact on children.

Faculty Expert

Natasha Pilkauskas

Associate Faculty Director of Poverty Solutions; Professor of Public Policy

Pilkauskas is a social demographer who studies the social safety net, children's living arrangements, and economic insecurity. Pilkauskas' work considers how social policy might improve the developmental and life trajectories of children living in poverty.