Effects of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit laws in the U.S. on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes

Sara Markowitz; Kelli A Komro; Melvin D Livingston; Otto Lenhart; Alexander C Wagenaar

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.10.016

Effects of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit laws in the U.S. on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes

Soc Sci Med. 2017 Dec:194:67-75. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.10.016. Epub 2017 Oct 16.

Authors

Sara Markowitz¹, Kelli A Komro², Melvin D Livingston³, Otto Lenhart⁴, Alexander C Wagenaar⁵

Affiliations

¹ Emory University, Department of Economics, Rich Memorial Building, 1602 Fishburne Dr, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States. Electronic address: sara.markowitz@emory.edu.
² Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Grace Crum Rollins Building, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States. Electronic address: kkomro@emory.edu.
³ University of North Texas Health Science Center, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States. Electronic address: Melvin.livingston@unthsc.edu.
⁴ University of West Florida, Department of Marketing and Economics, 11000 University Pkwy, Pensacola, FL 32514, United States. Electronic address: olenhart@uwf.edu.
⁵ Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Grace Crum Rollins Building, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States. Electronic address: alex.wagenaar@emory.edu.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) laws in the U.S. on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes. Using multi-state, multi-year difference-in-differences analyses, we estimated effects of state EITC generosity on maternal health behaviors, birth weight and gestation weeks. We find little difference in maternal health behaviors associated with state-level EITC. In contrast, results for key infant health outcomes of birth weight and gestation weeks show small improvements in states with EITCs, with larger effects seen among states with more generous EITCs. Our results provide evidence for important health benefits of state-level EITC policies.

Keywords: Earned Income Tax Credit; Health policy; Infant health; Maternal health; Socioeconomic factors.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Health Behavior*
Humans
Income Tax / trends*
Infant
Infant Health / economics*
Infant Health / standards
Mothers / statistics & numerical data*
Patient Outcome Assessment*
United States

Grants and funding

R01 MD010241/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/United States