Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Infant Health
Open accessAbstract
This paper evaluates the health impact of a central piece in the U.S. safety net for families with children: the Earned Income Tax Credit.Using tax-reform induced variation in the federal EITC, we examine the impact of the credit on infant health outcomes.We find that increased EITC income reduces the incidence of low birth weight and increases mean birth weight.For single low education (<= 12 years) mothers, a policy-induced treatment on the treated increase of $1000 in EITC income is associated with 6.7 to 10.8% reduction in the low birth weight rate, with larger impacts for births to African American mothers.These impacts are evident with difference-in-difference models and event study analyses.Our results suggest that part of the mechanism for this improvement in birth outcomes is the result of more prenatal care and less negative health behaviors (smoking).We find little role for changes in health insurance.We contribute to the literature by establishing that an exogenous increase in income can improve health, and illustrating a health impact of a non-health program.More generally, we demonstrate the potential for positive external benefits of the social safety net.
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Social policies that provide families with additional income can lead to improved health.
“Research reveals that social policies that provide families with additional income can lead to improved health.”
From Reducing Racial Inequities in Health: Using What We Already Know to Take Action (2019) · cites this paper as [24]
Income from EITC reduced the rate of low birth weight and increased mean birth weight, with associations larger for blacks than whites.
“income from EITC reduced the rate of low birth weight and increased mean birth weight, with the associations being larger for blacks than for whites [24].”
From Reducing Racial Inequities in Health: Using What We Already Know to Take Action (2019) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Hoynes, H., Miller, D., & Simon, D.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- ORCID
- Miller, Douglas
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2012-07
- OpenAlex
- W2890427909
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 1
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Princeton University
- University of California, Davis
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Healthcare Policy and Management
- Keywords
- Earned Income Tax Credit, infant health, low birth weight, birth weight, single mothers, low educational attainment, African American mothers, prenatal care, maternal smoking, health insurance, social safety nets, income and health, tax reform
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