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Research ArticleArticle

Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income

Hilary W. Hoynes and Ankur J. Patel
Published online before print July 07, 2017, 1115-7494R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.53.4.1115.7494R1
Hilary W. Hoynes
Hilary Hoynes is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley. She is also a Research Associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research. Ankur Patel is a Financial Economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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Ankur J. Patel
Hilary Hoynes is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley. She is also a Research Associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research. Ankur Patel is a Financial Economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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Abstract

We examine the effect of the EITC on the poverty and income of single mothers with children using a quasi-experiment approach that leverages variation in generosity due to policy expansions across tax years and family sizes. We find that the income increasing effects of the EITC are concentrated between 75 and 150 percent of income-to-poverty with little effect at the lowest income levels and at levels of 250 percent of poverty and higher. We use these results to show that by capturing the indirect effects of the credit on earnings, static calculations of the anti-poverty effects of the EITC may be underestimated by almost 50 percent.

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Journal of Human Resources: 58 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 58, Issue 3
1 May 2023
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Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income
Hilary W. Hoynes, Ankur J. Patel
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2017, 1115-7494R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.53.4.1115.7494R1

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Effective Policy for Reducing Poverty and Inequality? The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Distribution of Income
Hilary W. Hoynes, Ankur J. Patel
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2017, 1115-7494R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.53.4.1115.7494R1
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