Employment Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit: Taking the Long View

Diane Schanzenbach and Michael Strain

No 13818, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the cornerstone U.S. anti-poverty program, typically lifting over 5 million children out of poverty each year. Targeted to low-income households with children, and only available to those who work, the EITC contains strong incentives for non-workers to become employed. Most of the existing economics literature focuses on federal EITC expansions in the 1980s and 1990s. This paper takes a longer view, studying all federal expansions since the program's inception in 1975. We find robust evidence that EITC expansions increase the extensive margin of labor supply.

Keywords: earned income tax credit; EITC; labor supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H31 I38 J22 J28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2020-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-lma, nep-pbe and nep-pub
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Tax Policy and the Economy, 2021, 35, 87–129

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Related works:
Journal Article: Employment Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit: Taking the Long View (2021)
Chapter: Employment Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit: Taking the Long View (2020)
Working Paper: Employment Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit: Taking the Long View (2020)
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