The Earned Income Tax Credit reduced the likelihood of being in poverty, new research shows. Children exposed to the EITC at early ages were less likely to receive public assistance, such as WIC, as adults. It shows how policies that help keep children out of poverty can have benefits for decades after. How the tax credit can be restructured to assist those who need the benefits the most, though, is murky. These findings suggest, though, that the tax credit improves economic outcomes of both the EITC recipients and their children, as the authors found evidence that these effects drive up income mobility.

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Persons: Katherine Michelmore, University of Michigan's Gerald R, Michelmore, Nicardo McInnis Organizations: IRS, Service, National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Michigan's, Ford School of Public Policy, Dynamics, California State University Locations: Wall, Silicon, Northridge