ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2024
No change in substance use disorders or overdose after implementation of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The impact of cash and near-cash social policies on substance use outcomes: a scoping review.Health affairs scholar · 2026Review
- The Earned Income Tax Credit and short-term changes in financial strain and drug use.Health affairs scholar · 2026Article
- County-Level COVID-19 Policy Comprehensiveness and Adult Behavioral Health during 2021 : County-Level COVID-19 Policy and Adult Behavioral Health.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInadequate income is associated with higher likelihood of experiencing a substance use disorder (SUD). This study tests whether the earned income tax credit (EITC), which issues supplemental income for workers with children in the U.S., is associated with lower rates of SUD and fatal overdose.
methodsWe examined the effects of state-level refundable EITC presence and generosity (i.e., state EITC rate as a % of federal rate) on SUD-related outcomes (SUD prevalence and intentional and unintentional fatal overdose) using a difference-in-difference methodology, with both two-way fixed-effects models and event study plots. Several sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of findings. Five data sources were used to create a combined state-level longitudinal dataset.
resultsWe did not find significant effects of refundable EITC presence or generosity on unintentional or intentional fatal overdose or SUD prevalence in two-way models. Event study models detected a very slight upward shift in SUD prevalence following refundable EITC implementation (not seen in sensitivity analyses) and no significant effects of EITC implementation on any of the fatal overdose outcomes.
conclusionsEvidence regarding income support programs is being highly sought by policy makers as income support programs have become increasingly popular policy levers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study indicates EITC policies likely have no impact on SUD or overdose, however, other income support programs without family restrictions are important to investigate further.
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