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Tuesday December 2, 2008

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Earned Income Tax Credit

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America

Alan Berube and Elizabeth Kneebone, October 24, 2008, The Brookings Institution

The Federal Reserve System and its 12 member banks partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to produce a new, in-depth look at concentrated poverty in America. The two-year study profiles 16 high-poverty communities across the United States, investigating the historical and contemporary factors associated with their high levels of economic distress. Read More

Concentrated Poverty, Working Poor, U.S. Poverty, Earned Income Tax Credit, Inequality

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioHow Can We Reduce the Rising Number of American Families Living in Poverty?

Rebecca M. Blank, September 25, 2008, Joint Economic Committee

In this testimony, Rebecca Blank argues for the need to modernize our poverty statistics so that we may have a better understanding of who is poor and how these numbers are changing over time. She discusses anti-poverty strategies for the next decade. Read More

U.S. Poverty, U.S. Census, Children & Families, Earned Income Tax Credit, U.S. Department of Commerce

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioLow-Income Families and Communities

Alan Berube, August 12, 2008

In a new report, Alan Berube and Elizabeth Kneebone explain that following a dramatic decline in concentrated poverty in the 1990s, the number of low-income workers and families living in high-working-poverty neighborhoods rose by a striking 41% in the first half of this decade. Alan Berube says that help for high working-poverty communities will come from stronger national and regional economic growth—plus targeted efforts to protect neighborhoods of choice and connection.

Concentrated Poverty, Working Poor, Earned Income Tax Credit, U.S. Poverty, Inequality

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioReversal of Fortune: A New Look at Concentrated Poverty in the 2000s

Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube, August 08, 2008, The Brookings Institution

After dramatic declines in concentrated poverty in the 1990s, the number of low-income workers and families living in high-working-poverty neighborhoods rose by a striking 41% in the first half of this decade, according to a new report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. The report's authors draw on data from the IRS to measure the change in rates of “concentrated working poverty” nationally and in many of the largest metropolitan areas across the country. Read More

Concentrated Poverty, Working Poor, Earned Income Tax Credit, U.S. Poverty, Inequality

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioEconomic Stimulus Act: Hard to Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Ron Haskins, Summer 2008, Pathways Magazine

Economic Stimulus Act: Hard to Kill Two Birds with One StoneThe bipartisan economic stimulus package was a straightforward application of Keynesian fiscal policy: Spend your way out of recession. However, some might wonder if it’s possible to design a stimulus package that could also reduce inequality. In this paper, Ron Haskins explains why targeted stimulus may reduce poverty in the short run but cannot substitute for investments that will reduce inequality in the long run. Read More

Economic Mobility, Inequality, Fiscal Policy, U.S. Economic Growth, Welfare

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPeriodic Payment of the Earned Income Tax Credit

Stephen D. Holt, June 05, 2008, The Brookings Institution

Many low-income working families would benefit from a streamlined ability to access the proceeds of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) throughout the year as they pay for ongoing expenses like housing, child care, and transportation. The federal government should consider adopting a model for direct periodic payment of the EITC, as most other countries with in-work tax credits provide. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, Inequality, Taxes, Working Poor, Children & Families

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioMetro Raise: Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Metropolitan Workers and Families

Alan Berube, David Park and Elizabeth Kneebone, June 05, 2008, The Brookings Institution

Metro Raise: Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Metropolitan Workers and FamiliesSlowed economic growth and rising prices for necessities like food, transportation, and child care threaten to exacerbate the challenges already facing America's low-income workers and their families. The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could do more to help close the growing gap between stagnant wages and rising prices. "Metro Raise" demonstrates how an expanded and modernized EITC would benefit families and communities in the nation's major metropolitan areas. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, Inequality, Taxes, Working Poor, Children & Families

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioBridging the Gap: Refundable Tax Credits in Metropolitan and Rural America

Elizabeth Kneebone, April 14, 2008, The Brookings Institution

Bridging the Gap: Refundable Tax Credits in Metropolitan and Rural AmericaIn this report, Elizbeth Kneebone examines the changing distribution of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients across large cites and suburbs, smaller metro areas, and rural communities throughout the country. While taxpayers in large cities and rural areas were the most likely to claim the EITC in 2005, more than one-third of EITC filers lived in the suburbs of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. Read More

Taxes, Earned Income Tax Credit, Income Distribution, Working Poor

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Costs of Benefit Delivery in the Food Stamp Program

Julia B. Isaacs, March 2008, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

This study by Brookings expert Julia Isaacs compares the Food Stamp Program with eight other public assistance programs across four measures of program effectiveness—administrative costs, error payments, program access, and benefit targeting. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, U.S. Poverty, Children & Families, Working Poor, Public Health

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioEmployment-Based Tax Credits for Low-Skilled Workers

John Karl Scholz, December 2007, Hamilton Project Discussion Paper

To address a few problems with low-income families, John Karl Scholz proposes a two-part policy designed to increase the return to work. He argues that increasing the return to work for childless low-skilled workers will lower unemployment rates and will improve other social benefits. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, U.S. Poverty, Inequality, Working Poor, Labor

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioFighting Poverty through Incentives and Work Mandates for Young Men

Ron Haskins, Fall 2007, Future of Children Policy Brief

Fighting Poverty through Incentives and Work Mandates for Young MenWage subsidies and work requirements hold the promise of alleviating many social problems, especially poverty. Brookings’s Ron Haskins writes about counteracting the negative behaviors of adolescent boys and young men in a new brief. Read More

U.S. Poverty, Welfare, Unemployment, Earned Income Tax Credit, Working Poor

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Importance of the EITC to Urban Economies

Alan Berube, July 13, 2007, Congressional Staff organized by Living Cities

Though most do not recognize it as an "urban" program, the Earned Income Tax Credit provides significant benefits to families in cities and suburbs, and stimulates local economic activity. In this presentation to Congressional staff organized by Living Cities, Alan Berube examines what Members can do to maximize the benefits of the EITC for lower-income families and communities in their districts. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, Taxes, U.S. Poverty, Welfare, Children & Families

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioEnding Poverty in America: Using Carrots and Sticks

Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins, May 01, 2007, The American Prospect

Article by Ron Haskins and Isabel V. Sawhill (May 2007) Read More

U.S. Poverty, Welfare, Education, U.S. Politics, Earned Income Tax Credit

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Local Ladder for Low-Income Workers: Recent Trends in the Earned Income Tax Credit

Elizabeth Kneebone, April 2007, The Brookings Institution

In this report, Elizabeth Kneebone examines how receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) increased between 2000 and 2004 in response to economic challenges. Increases were largest in the suburbs of the nation's largest metropolitan areas, which today contain 2.4 million more EITC recipients than central cities. Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, Taxes, Children & Families, U.S. Economy, Working Poor

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Earned Income Tax Credit

Ron Haskins, February 22, 2007, Testimony before the Maryland House of Delegates, Committee on Ways and Means

Testimony by Ron Haskins (2/22/07) Read More

Earned Income Tax Credit, Taxes, Welfare, U.S. Poverty, Working Poor

In Brief

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a largely successful component of American labor and antipoverty policy, increasing the ability of workers in low-paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Work remains to improve the EITC’s effectiveness including expanding eligibility and increasing participation among those already eligible.

EITC interactive data >>

Featured Experts

Alan Berube

Alan Berube

Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program

Alan Berube is research director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. A former policy advisor to the U.S. Treasury Department, he is an expert on metropolitan demographics, low-wage workers, and urban poverty.
Read More

Ron Haskins

Ron Haskins

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

A former White House and congressional advisor on welfare issues, Ron Haskins co-directs the Brookings Center on Children and Families. An expert on preschool, foster care, and poverty—he was instrumental in the 1996 overhaul of national welfare policy.
Read More

Portrait of Rebecca Blank

Rebecca M. Blank

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

Rebecca M. Blank is the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Prior to coming to Brookings, she was dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and co-director of the National Poverty Center.
Read More

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Spotlight

ExpertMartin S. Indyk

Ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for near east affairs during the Clinton Administration, Martin Indyk directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. He currently focuses on the Clinton administration’s diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

ExpertDouglas W. Elmendorf

Doug Elmendorf, whose government posts have included the Federal Reserve, Treasury, Council of Economic Advisors, and CBO, focuses his research on macroeconomics and fiscal policy. He is co-editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity and director of The Hamilton Project, which develops proposals for shared growth.

ExpertMauricio Cárdenas

Mauricio Cárdenas is a senior fellow and director of the Latin American Initiative. Formerly minister of Economic Development and Transportation, and director of National Planning of Colombia, his research focuses on international and development economics. He is also the president of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).

ExpertSarah A. Binder

Sarah Binder is an expert on Congress and legislative politics.  She is completing a project on the politics of advice and consent, and is at work on the politics of how Congress responds to financial crises.

ExpertJulia B. Isaacs

Julia Isaacs focuses on public investments in children and how children are affected by national budgetary policies. A former federal budget analyst, she also researches the economic mobility of children and families across the income spectrum.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

TopicMigration

Migration is an issue that bridges Brookings’s expertise in domestic and foreign policy. In the United States, reforming immigration policy remains a subject of intense political debate. Globally, the unprecedented movement of people across borders raises issues in both industrialized countries and the developing world.

ExpertCarlos Pascual

Carlos Pascual is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. As vice president and director of Foreign Policy, he focuses on post-conflict stabilization and international security policy.

TOPICThe Presidential Transition

During the 77 days from the election to the Inauguration, Brookings experts will offer 12 "Memos to the President" on top policy priorities across the spectrum of domestic and global challenges, plus additional advice on transitioning from campaigning to governing.

ExpertEswar Prasad

Eswar Prasad, the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, is a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development. He was previously head of the Financial Studies Division and the China Division at the IMF.

ExpertHugh B. Price

Former president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, Hugh Price is an expert on education, civil rights, equal opportunity and criminal justice. His 40-year career spans journalism, philanthropy, the law, and social advocacy.

Research ProjectThe Hamilton Project

The Hamilton Project produces research and policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans. Their agenda also focuses on enhancing individual economic security and effective public investments. 

ExpertDarrell M. West

Darrell M. West is the vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings. His studies include campaigns and elections, political advertising, mass media, public opinion, technology policy and electronic government.

ProgramGovernance Studies

Governance Studies explores political institutions of the United States and other democracies to assess how they govern, how their practices compare and how citizens and public servants can advance sound governance.

Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

ExpertMark B. McClellan

A medical doctor and economist, Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

Policy CenterEngelberg Center for Health Care Reform

The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform provides practical solutions to achieve high-quality, innovative, affordable health care with particular emphasis on identifying opportunities on the national, state and local levels.

ExpertRebecca Blank

Rebecca Blank is an expert on the interaction between the macroeconomy, government anti-poverty programs, and the behavior and well being of low-income families. She has just been named the Robert S. Kerr senior fellow at Brookings.