Do Larger Earned Income Tax Credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits Create Complementary Effects on Child Development
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11291091 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Young‐sun Hong (0009-0006-7479-4765), Youngjin Stephanie Hong (University of Wisconsin Health, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 5-5 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Population Research and Policy Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0167-5923 • E-ISSN: 1573-7829 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11113-025-09985-9 |
| PMID | 41583537 |
| OpenAlex | W7125366983 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 61 |
Poverty is particularly concerning during early childhood and the early school years, as it can negatively impact child development both in the short and long term. To alleviate economic hardship, the U.S. government provides a patchwork of income support policies. This paper examines two of the largest programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which low-income working families often receive simultaneously. This paper is the first to explore whether these benefits interact to influence children's early cognitive development in families receiving both programs. To address endogeneity of program benefits, I use a two-way (child and year) fixed effects model to leverage the variation in the maximum federal and state EITC benefits stemming from changes in the number of children and state EITC policies, as well as the variation in SNAP purchasing power driven by local food prices over time within each child, rather than actual benefit amounts. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (which tracks a nationally representative 2001 birth cohort through the kindergarten-entry period), I find new population-level evidence that EITC benefits are effective at improving early math and reading skills when coupled with greater SNAP purchasing power, and vice versa (sample size = 1300). Suggestive evidence is provided on the mechanisms underlying such complementary effects on early cognitive outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing the reach and generosity of both programs
Earned income tax credit · Income tax · Population · Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program · Tax credit · Tax deduction · Early Childhood Education and Development · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
A Treatise on the Family
Fetal Origins and Parental Responses
Long-Run Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net
Stress and child development
Early-Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment, Behavior, and Health
Recent Trends in Income, Racial, and Ethnic School Readiness Gaps at Kindergarten Entry
The Earned Income Tax Credit and Short-Term Changes in Parents’ Time Investments in Children
Tots and Teens
The Earned Income Tax Credit and Maternal Time Use
Labor Supply Response to the Earned Income Tax Credit
Using Differences in Knowledge Across Neighborhoods to Uncover the Impacts of the Eitc on Earnings
The Impact of Family Income on Child Achievement
The expanded Child Tax Credit and economic wellbeing of low-income families
Mental accounting matters
Do SNAP participants expand non-food spending when they receive more SNAP Benefits?—Evidence from the 2009 SNAP benefits increase
Quasi‐experimental evidence on the employment effects of the 2021 fully refundable monthly child tax credit
The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Household Finances
An effectiveness‐based evaluation of five state pre‐kindergarten programs
The Effect of Safety Net Generosity on Maternal Mental Health and Risky Health Behaviors
Supplemental nutrition assistance program and school readiness skills
Income Support Policy Packages and Birth Outcomes in U.S. States
The effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive development
The Changing Safety Net for Low-Income Parents and Their Children
The Effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Housing and Living Arrangements
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Material Hardships among Low-Income Households with Children
The Role of Earned Income Tax Credit in the Budgets of Low-Income Households
Variation in the long-term benefits of child care
Food Instability and Academic Achievement
Patterns and determinants of multiple welfare programme participation among families with children in Taiwan
Administrative Burden
How Money Matters for Young Children's Development
Who Uses the Social Safety Net? Trends in Public Benefit Use among American Households with Children, 1980-2020
Dignity and Dreams
Does a Higher Minimum Wage Enhance the Effectiveness of the Earned Income Tax Credit
US Welfare Reform
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |