[WEBINAR] Work Supports and Health: The Earned Income Tax Credit, IWPR and University of California-Berkeley’s Work-Family Supports and Health Research Hub (June 2020)

The COVID-19 global pandemic is having a substantial impact on the economy; most experts agree that the United States, among other countries, is headed for a major recession. Sound job creation and employment maintenance efforts will be critical to improving public health and restoring the economy in the coming months and years. In this webinar, experts discussed the impact of the earned income tax credit on improving health outcomes.

Speakers included: Dr. Rita Hamad, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, UC San Francisco; John Iselin, UC Berkeley; Adam Ruben, Campaign Director, Economic Security Project; Otis Rolley, Senior Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Can the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Boost Child Health?– Research Hub: Institute for Women’s Policy Research and University of California, Berkeley; Principal Investigator: Rita Hamad, University of California, San Francisco (funded on July 15, 2018)

In this study, the research team will first investigate the multi-dimensional child health effects of state EITC expansions. The research team will also examine seasonal variation in child health as a result of EITC refunds received in the spring of each year (at tax time). They will examine self-reported health outcomes that are likely to change, including food insecurity and mental health. This research will be important for understanding how alternative design and timing of EITC receipt could potentially help the program be even more effective at supporting working families and the health of their children.

A Nudge for Better Health: Taking Advantage of Income Supports – Research Hub: Institute for Women’s Policy Research and University of California, Berkeley; Principal Investigator: William H. Dow, Interim Dean and the Kaiser Permanente Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley (funded on July 15, 2018)

The research team is working with several state agencies and external nonprofits on three studies to test “nudge”-like outreach strategies aimed at encouraging potential recipients to file taxes and claim their State of California EITCs.

Sara Markowitz, Kelli A. Komro, Melvin D. Livington, Otto Lenhart, Alexander C. Wagenaar, Effects of state-level EITC laws in the US on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes, Social Science and Medicine (December 2017)

Researchers investigated effects of state-level EITCs on maternal health behavior and infant health outcomes. The research showed small improvements for key infant health outcomes in states that have state-level EITCs, with larger effects seen in those states with larger tax credits.

Jeannette Wicks-Lim and Peter S.Arno, “Improving population health by reducing poverty: New York’s Earned Income Tax Credit,” Social Science & Medicine (December 2017)

Taking a closer look at the neighborhood-level health effects of the EITC, researchers measured child health outcomes in neighborhoods before and after state and city expansions in New York. The authors found an increase in the EITC benefit rate reduced low birthweight rates, suggesting ecological effects.

Hilary Hoynes, “The Earned Income Tax Credit: a key policy to support families facing wage stagnation,” Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (January, 2017)

This policy brief provides an overview of the research on the ways the federal EITC increases work and improves families health and children’s development.

Rita Hamad and David H. Rehkopf, “Poverty, Pregnancy, and Birth Outcomes: A Study of the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Paediatric Perinatal Epidemoiology (September 2015)

Researchers looked at the perinatal health effects of household income and EITC payment size, finding that the alleviation of a family’s financial stress may contribute to benefits for infant health.

Leslie McGranahan and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach “The Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Consumption Patterns,Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper (2014) 

Investigating how the EITC influences food expenditure patterns, researcher found that EITC-eligible households spend relatively more on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables during the months when most EITC benefits are paid.

Hilary Hoynes, Douglas L. Miller, and David Simon. “The EITC: Linking Income to Real Health Outcomes.” University of California Davis Center for Poverty Research, Policy Brief (2013)

Looking at the federal 1993 EITC expansion, researchers measured the effect of extra income on rates of low birth weights and found that cash infusion from the EITC improved birth weights and had a clear impact on newborn health.

William N. Evans and Craig L. Garthwaite, “Giving Mom a Break: The Impact of Higher EITC Payments on Maternal Health,”National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 16296 (2010)

Using data before and after the 1993 expansions of the federal EITC, researchers found evidence associated with mothers’ improved blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, and inflammation levels.

Grantmakers in Health and the EITC FN: Health Equity and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): COVID-19 Spotlights the Need for Cross-Sector Collaborations (2020)

We recently spoke with one of our earliest partners in this effort—Giridhar Mallya, Senior Policy Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)—and asked him about the growing body of research linking the EITC to health equity, policy opportunities in the wake of the unequal and devastating impacts of COVID-19, and recent bright spots and collaborative efforts in this work.

Asset Funders Network (AFN): Pioneering Health and Wealth Integration for Children (2019)

AFN’s report, Pioneering Health and Wealth Integration for Children, in collaboration with Yale’s Medical School Program for Recovery and Community Health, reveals that for many children 3-17 years of age, health and wealth inequities are standing in the way of a prosperous future, especially with children of color. This report is the first in a series that builds off AFN’s 2017 publication, The Health and Wealth Connection: Opportunities for Investment Across the Life Course, and includes research and strategies exploring the health-wealth connection for particular life stages.

Asset Funders Network (AFN): Resources on Health and Wealth.

AFN has put together a series of resources, including a webinar, discussion guide, and research brief –  The Health Wealth Connection: Opportunities for Investment Across the Course of Life – that outline the relationship between health and wealth at all stages of life.

Grantmakers in Health: Philanthropy’s Role in Addressing Neighborhood Conditions that Shape Health  (2018)

This scan of the field explores how grantmakers are addressing neighborhood factors that shape health, such as housing community, development, the built environment and transportation.

EITC Funders Network, GIST, and GCYF: Two Generation Approaches to Poverty Reduction and the EITC (2015)

Framed for a funder audience, this collection of articles written by field experts looks at the second generation impacts of the EITC on health, employment, education, savings, and community economic stability. Included in the collection is Jeannette Wicks-Lim and Peter S.Arno’s “The Earned Income Tax Credit’s Impacts on Health,” in which the authors go through the literature on the EITC’s impact on health and explain what the findings mean.

Muennig et al, “Cost Effectiveness of the EITC as a Health Policy Investment,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine (2016)

Researchers looked into the cost effectiveness of state EITC supplements as targeted health policy investments and found that state EITCs are more cost-effective than some other health intervensions and have the added benefit of reversing mortality trends in some states.