IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v710y2023i1p90-107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Food Insecurity and Financial Hardship

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas Moellman
  • Cody N. Vaughn
  • James P. Ziliak

Abstract

We review the literature on the expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021, as it relates to food and financial hardship among households with children in the U.S. Extant scholarship consistently finds that receipt of the expanded tax credit is associated with an increase in food purchases and declines in food insufficiency and food insecurity. The effects of the tax credit expansion also vary by the socioeconomic characteristics of families. There are important differences, though, in effect sizes across studies, indicating that data sources, timeframe of analysis, and the way in which food hardship is measured all matter to the accurate estimation of effects. The effect of the credit on financial hardship is less conclusive, with the literature finding generally insignificant effects on measures such as difficulty paying rent or bills.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Moellman & Cody N. Vaughn & James P. Ziliak, 2023. "The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Food Insecurity and Financial Hardship," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 710(1), pages 90-107, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:710:y:2023:i:1:p:90-107
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162241261189
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162241261189
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00027162241261189?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Craig Gundersen & Victor Oliveira, 2001. "The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 875-887.
    2. Vivekananda Das, 2023. "The effect of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility on food insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 485-518, June.
    3. Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    4. Craig Gundersen & David Ribar, 2011. "Food Insecurity And Insufficiency At Low Levels Of Food Expenditures," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(4), pages 704-726, December.
    5. Laura Leete & Neil Bania, 2010. "The effect of income shocks on food insufficiency," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 505-526, December.
    6. Lucie Schmidt & Lara Shore-Sheppard & Tara Watson, 2016. "The Effect of Safety-Net Programs on Food Insecurity," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(3), pages 589-614.
    7. Craig Gundersen & James P Ziliak, 2018. "Food Insecurity Research in the United States: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 40(1), pages 119-135.
    8. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider & John V. Pepper, 2017. "Partial Identification Methods for Evaluating Food Assistance Programs: A Case Study of the Causal Impact of SNAP on Food Insecurity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(4), pages 875-893.
    9. Caroline Ratcliffe & Signe-Mary McKernan & Sisi Zhang, 2011. "How Much Does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1082-1098.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bradley Hardy & Charles Hokayem, 2023. "The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Well-Being," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 710(1), pages 157-171, November.
    2. Pamela Herd & Donald Moynihan, 2023. "Implementing the Expanded Child Tax Credit: What Worked, What Didn’t, and How to Move Forward," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 710(1), pages 58-74, November.
    3. Lisa A. Gennetian & Anna Gassman-Pines, 2023. "The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Parents’ Psychological Well-Being," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 710(1), pages 124-140, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Otto Lenhart, 2021. "The effects of paid family leave on food insecurity—evidence from California," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 615-639, September.
    2. Zheng, Yuqing & (Jason) Zhao, Jianqiang & Buck, Steven & Burney, Shaheer & Kaiser, Harry M. & Wilson, Norbert L., 2021. "Putting grocery food taxes on the table: Evidence for food security policy-makers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. Dean Jolliffe & Juan Margitic & Martin Ravallion & Laura Tiehen, 2024. "Food stamps and America's poorest," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(4), pages 1380-1409, August.
    4. Wang, Julia Shu-Huah & Zhao, Xi & Nam, Jaehyun, 2021. "The effects of welfare participation on parenting stress and parental engagement using an instrumental variables approach: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso & Jales, Hugo B. & Liu, Judith & Wilson, Norbert L., 2023. "Moving Policies Toward Racial and Ethnic Equality: The Case of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1272, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Santos, Mateus Rennó & Testa, Alexander & Weiss, Douglas B. & Jackson, Dylan B., 2022. "County jail incarceration rates and food hardship in the United States," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Steimle, Samantha & Gassman-Pines, Anna & Ryan, Rebecca M., 2024. "The expanded Child Tax Credit and low-income families’ food insecurity: Associations across and within months of receipt," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    8. Zhao, Jianqiang J. & Kaiser, Harry M. & Zheng, Yuqing, 2022. "Do grocery food taxes incentivize participation in SNAP?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark, 2013. "Food Insecurity Among Households With Working-Age Adults With Disabilities," Economic Research Report 142955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Reed-Jones, Madeline & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P., 2024. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2023," Economic Research Report 344963, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Das, Debasmita, 2019. "SNAP Work Requirement and Food Insecurity," MPRA Paper 109964, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Oct 2021.
    12. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P. & Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, 2023. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2022," Economic Research Report 338945, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Fitzpatrick, Katie, 2024. "Non-bank credit and food hardship: The association between payday loans, pawn loans, rent-to-own contracts and food hardship in households with children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    14. Becca B.R. Jablonski & Joy Casnovsky & Jill K. Clark & Rebecca Cleary & Beth Feingold & Darcy Freedman & Steven Gray & Xiaobo Romeiko & Laura Schmitt Olabisi & Mariana Torres & Alexandra E. van den Be, 2021. "Emergency Food Provision for Children and Families during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Examples from Five U.S. Cities," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 169-184, March.
    15. McKernan, Signe-Mary & Ratcliffe, Caroline & Braga, Breno, 2021. "The effect of the US safety net on material hardship over two decades," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    16. Seungyeon Cho, 2022. "The Effect of Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Food Insecurity of Children in U.S. Immigrant Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 501-510, September.
    17. Kelly Noonan & Hope Corman & Nancy E. Reichman, 2014. "Effects of Maternal Depression on Family Food Insecurity," NBER Working Papers 20113, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. James P. Ziliak, 2021. "Food Hardship during the COVID‐19 Pandemic and Great Recession," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 132-152, March.
    19. Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    20. Charles Courtemanche & Augustine Denteh & Rusty Tchernis, 2019. "Estimating the Associations between SNAP and Food Insecurity, Obesity, and Food Purchases with Imperfect Administrative Measures of Participation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 202-228, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:710:y:2023:i:1:p:90-107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.