State earned income tax credits and general health indicators: A quasi‐experimental national study 1993‐2016

Abstract

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Evidence for the Role of State-Level Economic Policy in HIV Risk Reduction: State Earned Income Tax Credit Generosity and HIV Risk Behavior Among Single Mothers

“…This relationship was also observed using a continuous version of the state earned income tax credit variable; however, no association was found for nonrefundable state earned income tax credit laws. Inability to detect a statistically significant relationship between HIV risk behavior and non-refundable state earned income tax credit laws may reflect a decreased likelihood of accessing these credits due to the lower average level of tax liability among this population [15]. Likewise, a refundable credit less than 10% of the FEITC (FEITC = $6431 for a family with 3 or more children in 2018) may not be large enough to have a meaningful impact on HIV risk behavior for lowincome single mothers [19].…”

“…The ≥ 10% FEITC reflects the 75th percentile of state earned income tax credit generosity for our study population. The "refundable" designation is important to consider in variable construction given that non-refundable tax credits are less available to this low-earning population that typically does not carry substantial tax liability [15]. We use a 1-year lagged version of the state earned income tax credit variable to reflect the fact that the question on HIV risk behavior references behavior over the prior year.…”

“…States without credits and those with nonrefundable tax credits in a given year are assigned a "0" value for that particular year. States with non-refundable tax credits are assigned a "0" value because individuals without a high school education are less likely to have tax liability, reducing the likelihood that they will actually receive a refund [15].…”

Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Role of Etiological, Evaluation, and Implementation Research

“…Over the past several years, CDC supported studies showing how economic supports for families and the promotion of family-friendly work policies are effective in reducing or mitigating ACEs ( Appendix Table 2 , available online). In particular, studies found significant associations between state EITCs, 65 – 68 federal child tax credits, 69 state Medicaid expansions, 70 maternal homeownership, 71 and paid parental leave policies 72 on decreases in CAN and other ACEs.…”

Income Support as a Health Intervention

“…We found that more generous state EITCs were associated with reduced rates of child maltreatment and adult mental distress, particularly among those with lower educational attainment, who are more likely to receive the EITC. 6,7 There is still much to learn about how best to use income support as a health intervention. We hope current and future researchers will be inspired by Shafer et al 1 to study the CTC and other innovations in income support over time and in relation to multiple domains of child and adult health.…”