ArticleAnnals of epidemiology2021
Short-term effects of the earned income tax credit on children's physical and mental health.
Article in Annals of epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- State Labor Market Policies and Health.The Milbank quarterly · 2026Article
- Critical Windows for Perinatal Health: Evaluating the Impacts of Timing of Poverty Alleviation Benefits.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Health Effects of the 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion on Young Adults Without Children.The Milbank quarterly · 2025Article
- Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for Young Adults and Mental Health of US Home Renters, 2021-2023.American journal of public health · 2025Article
- "It's confusing as hell": a qualitative study of barriers accessing poverty alleviation benefits through the US Earned Income Tax Credit.Health affairs scholar · 2025Article
- Beyond Food Assistance: A Scoping Review Examining Associations of Nonfood Social Safety Net Programs in the United States With Food Insecurity and Nutrition Outcomes.Nutrition reviews · 2025Article
- Understanding And Comparing Economic Assistance Models To Improve Food Security And Diet Quality: A Rapid Review.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2025Review
- Annual Research Review: Cash transfer programs and young people's mental health - a review of studies in the United States.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Review
- A New Approach To Guide Research And Policy At The Intersection Of Income, Food, Nutrition, And Health.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2025Review
- Methods Used to Evaluate the Health Effects of Social Policies: A Systematic Review.Current epidemiology reports · 2025Article
- The effect of the US Child Tax Credit advance payments in 2021 on adolescent mental health: Changes in depression symptoms and suicidality.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Article
- The expanded Child Tax Credit and low-income families' food insecurity: Associations across and within months of receipt.Children and youth services review · 2024Article
- A Scoping Review to Identify Community- and Societal-Level Strategies Evaluated from 2013 to 2023 for Their Potential Impact on Child Well-Being in the United States.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- What Do We Know About Depression Among Youth and How Can We Make Progress Toward Improved Understanding and Reducing Distress? A New Hope.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2023Review
- Estimating the effect of timing of earned income tax credit refunds on perinatal outcomes: a quasi-experimental study of California births.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Food Insecurity and Diabetes: Overview of Intersections and Potential Dual Solutions.Diabetes care · 2023Review
- Potential gaps in income support policies for those in poor health: The case of the earned income tax credit-A cross sectional analysis.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Potential mechanisms linking poverty alleviation and health: an analysis of benefit spending among recipients of the U.S. earned income tax credit.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Financial stress as a mediator of the association between maternal childhood adversity and infant birth weight, gestational age, and NICU admission.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Effects Of The 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit On Adults' Mental Health: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeChild poverty is associated with worsened health, although there is limited research on whether U.S. poverty alleviation policies improve children's health. We examined the short-term effects of the earned income tax credit (EITC), among the largest U.S. poverty alleviation programs, on children's food insecurity, weight status, and mental health.
methodsUsing data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, 1998-2016), we examined the effects of the EITC using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences methodology. About 90% of EITC-eligible individuals receive tax refunds in February-April, while NHIS interviews occur throughout the year. We took advantage of this timing of refund receipt to compare EITC-eligible families interviewed in February-April with those interviewed in the other months, "differencing out" seasonal trends in outcomes among noneligible families. Analyses involved multivariable linear regressions.
resultsWe found that food insecurity decreased in the months following EITC refund receipt, with no effects for weight status or mental health. Results were robust to alternative specifications.
conclusionWhile these findings suggest that food insecurity among vulnerable children was reduced immediately after EITC refund receipt, this also means that the EITC may contribute to cyclical food insecurity. Policies to enhance income stability may be one solution to address these findings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.