Earned Income Tax Credit

Publication

Child Tax Credit expansion boosted housing affordability and stability, U-M study shows

Aug 8, 2024

A temporary, pandemic-era expansion of the Child Tax Credit improved housing affordability for families with low incomes, according to University of Michigan research.The study by Natasha Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore, associate professors of...

Publication

Disparity dynamics: Geographic impact of social transfer programs on income inequality

Jul 31, 2024

Social transfer programs have significant geographic differences in spending that help to reduce income gaps between rich and poor regions of the United States, according to new University of Michigan research.The study, published in Social Service...

Map of personal income per capita in US Core-Based Statistical Areas, 2019. Per capita incomes were highest in metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts and in tourism and natural resource centers in the interior West.

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Kamissa Camara chaired the Bipartisan Senior Study Group for the Sahel at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The study group’s comprehensive report critically assesses opportunities for peace, security, and economic development in the Sahel.Charlotte...

(Top row, left to right) Fullerton Rico, Hills, Holz, Jacob, and Leiser (Bottom row, left to right) Morenoff, Raimi, Shipan, Spencer, and Stevenson

News

Michelmore and Pilkauskas discuss the benefits of tax credits

Oct 9, 2023

Over the past few months, Ford School associate professors Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas have been discussing their research and insights on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit in a wide array of outlets. Here...

Natasha Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore

Publication

Declaring the “end” of the pandemic presents short- and long-term hazards - Lantz

Jun 7, 2023

The World Health Organization declared of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic’s global public health emergency status on May 5, 2023. On May 11, many of the U.S. federal pandemic-related public health and economic actions came to an end. Ford School...

News

U-M’s Poverty Solutions takes an evidence-based approach to improving life in Detroit and beyond

May 17, 2023

Luke Shaefer is the director of Poverty Solutions, a university-wide initiative that partners hundreds of University of Michigan faculty experts and student researchers with community organizations and policymakers to alleviate poverty. Shaefer said...

News

Michigan Minds podcast: Addressing Systemic Inequities and Educational Disparities

Mar 1, 2023

Katherine Michelmore, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and core faculty of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI). Her research examines the social safety net, education policy, labor...

News

Shaefer joins Detroit mayor and partners to help residents access tax credits

Feb 2, 2023

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has joined with a coalition of community partner agencies to announce the 2023 tax credit campaign to enable residents to access millions in federal tax credits. Duggan also outlined that the city’s new plan provides...

Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room

In the Media

Americans' increasing requests for assistance a sign that "people are hurting"

Jan 26, 2023 USA Today

USA Today: The report's other finding that 55% of surveyed adults sought benefits shows how much people are hurting, said Luke Shaefer, a leading expert on social safety nets and professor at the University of Michigan. “The best indicator we...

News

Michelmore appointed as NBER research associate

Apr 25, 2022

Ford School professor Katherine Michelmore has been named as one of 23 new research associates by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER is is a private, nonpartisan organization that facilitates cutting-edge investigation and...

In the Media

Shaefer lauds EITC

Feb 16, 2022 Detroit Free Press

In the midst of tax filing season, many Americans, especially younger and retired workers, are realizing that new tax rules will result in larger refunds. Luke Shaefer, Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy, discussed...

News

Shaefer joins Detroit mayor to assist with tax credit claims

Jan 31, 2022

The City of Detroit is working with several organizations to continue its annual push to encourage Detroiters to file their taxes and claim their refunds. This year, with both the expanded Child Tax Credit and the increased refunds from the State...

Luke Shaefer at Detroit mayr press conference

News

Greetings from the Dean - The Briefing, January 2022

Jan 20, 2022

Dear friends, Best wishes to you as we start 2022 with great hopes for the coming year, but also with significant uncertainty—a global pandemic, a growing awareness of the urgent need to defend our democracy, and our imperative struggle for...

In the Media

Pilkauskas weighs in on policy that addresses need

Dec 20, 2021 Wallet Hub

In a WalletHub interview, Natasha Pilkauskas shares insights about "changes and challenges experienced by needy groups and those who desire to help" based on her recent research showing benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit and other benefits...

State & Hill

Faculty findings, fall 2021

Dec 13, 2021

Who would pay if we stop using natural gas? New research co-authored by economist Catherine Hausman considers the equity impacts of transitioning from natural gas to other energy sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information...

Yellow gas pipes in natural gas treatment plant

Publication

Earned Income Tax Credit affects intergenerational marriage and childbirth decisions, says U-M study

Dec 3, 2021

Children of Earned Income Tax Credit beneficiaries delayed marriage and first births, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Michigan professor, suggesting the cost-effectiveness of the federal program. Little has been known...

Publication

Michelmore and Pilkauskas find EITC boosts employment, with decreasing impact as children age

Oct 4, 2021

Existing research has largely overlooked the variation in maternal employment effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) depending on the age of their children. In a new study, Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas, both associate...

News

Q&A with new faculty: Kathy Michelmore

Sep 1, 2021

Kathy Michelmore, who was a IES postdoctoral fellow at the Education Policy Initiative (2014-2016), returns to the Ford School and adds social and education policy expertise. She is a leading scholar and educator on the social safety net, education...

Publication

Policy memo: Pilkauskas and Michelmore on "The anti-poverty policy of the American Rescue Plan that no one is really talking about"

Mar 15, 2021

As the Biden administration embarks on its first hundred days, experts from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy have produced a series of policy briefs on key issues. Download the PDF of this brief or read the web-formatted version...

In the Media

Shaefer explains COVID relief plan 'child allowance' and its impacts on families

Mar 2, 2021 NPR

"This is the boldest vision laid out by an American President for fighting poverty in at least a half a century. But it starts with a really simple idea... the government has a reason to make sure that [raising children] is done well." Luke...

News

Stevenson comments on lagging summer job creation lags, effect of expanded earned income tax credit

Jul 1, 2020

Ford School economics professor Betsey Stevenson was featured on NPR’s Marketplace, which noted that, “Summer has arrived; lots of summer jobs have not.” This year is going to be tough on people who work in travel, tourism and restaurants, which...

Pilkauskas finds Earned Income Tax Credit helps low-income moms live on their own

Jun 20, 2019

Increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit helps low-income single mothers improve their housing outcomes as they are less likely to live in crowded households and more likely to live independently, according to a University of Michigan study.The...

News

In New York Times, Luke Shaefer discusses new policy proposal on childhood poverty

Oct 19, 2016

With a forthcoming paper on childhood poverty about to be released by the Russell Sage Foundation, Luke Shaefer spoke with New York Times Economic Scene columnist Eduardo Porter for the October 18 story, “Giving Every Child a Monthly Check for an...

Luke Shaefer delivers a talk at the Ford School

Natasha Pilkauskas on equalizing opportunity for underprivileged children

Sep 22, 2016

Natasha Pilkauskas is one of several experts interviewed for the August 11 article “2016’s Best & Worst States for Underprivileged Children” by Richie Bernardo for WalletHub.The article ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to a...

EPI Speaker Series

Who’s caring for the kids? The Earned Income Tax Credit and child care arrangements

Oct 26, 2022, 12:00-12:50 pm EDT

Room 1210 Weill Hall

In this talk, Professors Michelmore and Pilkauskas will discuss their study the effect of one of the largest work-contingent cash transfer programs in the United States – the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – on the child care arrangements of children.

CLOSUP Lecture Series

EITC Expansions, Earnings Growth, and Inequality: Evidence from Washington, DC

Mar 20, 2019, 11:30 am-1:00 pm EDT

Weill Hall, Betty Ford Classroom 1110

Does Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion have a positive or negative effect on labor market outcomes and household well being in Washington DC? Hear Dr. Hardy discuss research on how EITC expansions undertaken by the Washington DC affect income and inequality in the city.