Earned Income Tax Credit and Youth Violence: Findings from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

The Relationship Between State-Level Earned Income Tax Credits and Violent Crime

Policies that provide economic support, such as the earned income tax credit (EITC), improve peoples' ability to meet their basic needs and reduce stress, which can reduce violence perpetration. Refundable state-level EITCs have been associated with decreases in multiple forms of violence (e.g., child abuse and neglect); however, it is unknown whether there is an association between the EITC and violent crime as captured by Uniform Crime Reports. Crime and violence remain a pressing concern for many communities across the nation. Using a longitudinal data set, we conducted fixed-effects regression models with year and state specified as fixed effects, to determine whether variations in generosity of state-level EITCs are related to the rate of violent crime. After adjusting for demographic covariates, refundable state-level EITCs remained significantly associated with reductions in criminal homicide compared to states without an EITC. As many states attempt to combat crime and prevent violence in their communities, anti-poverty measures such as the EITC provide a promising strategy for reducing the social and economic costs associated with violence.

State expansion of supplemental nutrition assistance program eligibility and rates of interpersonal violence

INTRODUCTION

Food insecurity is associated with an increased likelihood of interpersonal violence. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest program addressing food insecurity in the U.S. States can eliminate the asset test and/or increase the income limit for SNAP eligibility, expanding the number of households receiving assistance. We examined the association of state elimination of the asset test and increases in the income limit with rates of interpersonal violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), other relationship violence (violence by a parent, friend, etc.), and stranger violence.

METHODS

We used data from the SNAP Policy Database and state-level estimates of rates of interpersonal violence per 1000 population ages ≥12 years from the 2012-2014 to 2016-2018 National Crime Victimization Survey.

RESULTS

States that adopted both SNAP eligibility policies (eliminated the asset test and increased the income limit) had a lower rate of IPV (β = -0.4, 95% CI -0.9, 0.0) and other relationship violence (β = -2.4, 95% CI -3.8, -1.1) compared to states that did not adopt either policy. The rate of stranger violence (β = -0.5, 95% CI -2.3, 1.4) did not differ for states that adopted both policies compared to states that did not adopt either policy. Rates of IPV (β = -0.4, 95% CI -0.9, 0.2), other relationship violence (β = -1.2, 95% CI -3.2, 0.7), and stranger violence (β = -0.2, 95% CI -2.0, 1.6) did not differ for states that eliminated the asset test only compared to states that did not adopt either policy.

CONCLUSION

Expanding SNAP eligibility may help prevent interpersonal violence at the population-level.

Cumulative Payments Through the Earned Income Tax Credit Program in Childhood and Criminal Conviction During Adolescence in the US

IMPORTANCE

Childhood poverty is associated with poor health and behavioral outcomes. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), first implemented in 1975, is the largest cash transfer program for working families with low income in the US.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether cumulative EITC payments received during childhood are associated with the risk of criminal conviction during adolescence.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

In this cohort study, the analytic sample consisted of US children enrolled in the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth. The children were born between 1979 and 1998 and were interviewed as adolescents (age 15-19 years) between 1994 and 2016. Data analyses were performed from May 2021 to September 2022.

EXPOSURE

Cumulative simulated EITC received by the individual's family from birth through age 14 years.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The main outcome was dichotomous, self-reported conviction for a crime during adolescence (age 14-18 years). A cumulative, simulated measure of mean EITC benefits received by a child's family from birth through age 14 years was derived from federal, state, and family-size differences in EITC eligibility and payments during the study period to capture EITC benefit variation due to differences in policy parameters but not endogenous factors such as changes in household income. Logistic regression models with fixed effects for state and year and robust SEs clustered by mother estimated relative risk of adolescent conviction. Models were adjusted for state-, mother-, and child-level covariates.

RESULTS

The analytical sample consisted of 5492 adolescents born between 1979 and 1998; 2762 (50.3%) were male, 1648 (30.0%) were Black, 1125 (20.5%) were Hispanic, and 2719 (49.5%) were not Black or Hispanic. Each additional $1000 of EITC received during childhood was associated with an 11% lower risk of self-reported criminal conviction during adolescence (adjusted odds ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.95). Adjusted risk differences were larger among boys (-14.2 self-reported convictions per 1000 population [95% CI, -22.0 to -6.3 per 1000 population]) than among girls (-6.2 per 1000 population [95% CI, -10.7 to -1.6 per 1000 population]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The findings suggest that income support from the EITC may be associated with reduced youth involvement with the criminal justice system in the US. Cost-benefit analyses of the EITC should consider these longer-term and indirect outcomes.