The Effect of State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Eligibility on Food Insufficiency during the COVID-19 Pandemic

25 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2022 Last revised: 6 Dec 2022

Date Written: June 29, 2022

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Household Pulse Survey to examine whether and for how long the eligibility to receive state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits reduced self-reported household food insufficiency among lower-income households with dependent children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of models estimated using difference-in-differences (DD) and difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) methods suggest that state EITC eligibility, on average, reduced food insufficiency by about 3 percentage points between March 2021 and early October 2021. However, the results of models estimated using an event study method show that the effect was not visible in all the post-March bimonthly periods. Overall, this paper finds some evidence to suggest that state EITC eligibility reduced food insufficiency over a short period.

Keywords: Food Insufficiency, State Earned Income Tax Credit, Household Pulse Survey, COVID-19 Pandemic

Suggested Citation

Das, Vivekananda, The Effect of State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Eligibility on Food Insufficiency during the COVID-19 Pandemic (June 29, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4149892 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4149892

Vivekananda Das (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin-Madison ( email )

Madison, WI 53706
United States

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