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.
BouchelleZoeVasanAditiCandonMollyKenyonChén C.2022. Food insufficiency following discontinuation of monthly child tax credit payments among lower-income US households. JAMA Health Forum3(11): e224039.
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Bovell-AmmonAllisonMcCannNicole C.MulugetaMarthade CubaStephanie EttingerRaifmanJuliaShaferPaul. 2022. Association of the expiration of Child Tax Credit advance payments with food insufficiency in US households. JAMA Network Open5(10): e2234438.
3.
CarlsonStevenKeith-JenningsBrynne. 2018. SNAP is linked with improved nutritional outcomes and lower health care costs. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available from www.cbpp.org.
4.
Coleman-JensenAlishaRabbittMatthew P.GregoryChristian A.SinghAnita. 2022. Household food security in the United States in 2021. Economic Research Report ERR-309. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Available from www.ers.usda.gov.
5.
CurranMegan A.2021. Research roundup of the expanded Child Tax Credit: The first 6 months. Poverty & Social Policy Report5(5), 1–25. Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. Available from www.povertycenter.columbia.edu.
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DahlMollyDeLeireThomasMokShannon. 2014. Food insufficiency and income volatility in US households: The effects of imputed income in the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy36(3): 416–437.
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DasVivekananda. 2023. The effect of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility on food insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Review of Economics of the Household21(2): 485–518.
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GregoryChristian A.RabbittMatthew P.RibarDavid C.2015. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and food insecurity. In SNAP matters: How food stamps affect health and well-being, eds. BartfeldJudithGundersenCraigSmeedingTimothy M.ZiliakJames P., 74–106. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
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GundersenCraigKreiderBrentPepperJohn V.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 Economics99(4): 875–893.
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GundersenCraigOliveiraVictor. 2001. The Food Stamp Program and food insufficiency. American Journal of Agricultural Economics83(4): 875–887.
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GundersenCraigRibarDavid. 2011. Food insecurity and insufficiency at low levels of food expenditures. Review of Income and Wealth57(4): 704–726.
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GundersenCraigZiliakJames P.2014. Childhood food insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, causes, and policy options. The Future of Children24(2): 1–19.
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GundersenCraigZiliakJames P.2018. Food insecurity research in the United States: Where we have been and where we need to go. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy40(1): 119–135.
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HamiltonLeahRollStephenDespardMathieuMaagElaineChunYungBruggerLauraGrinstein-WeissMichal. 2022. The impacts of the 2021 expanded child tax credit on family employment, nutrition, and financial well-being: Findings from the Social Policy Institute’s Child Tax Credit Panel (Wave 2). Brookings Global Working Paper 173, Washington, DC.
15.
KarpmanMichaelMaagElaineZuckermanStephenWissokerDoug. 2022. Child Tax Credit recipients experienced a larger decline in food insecurity and a similar change in employment as nonrecipients between 2020 and 2021. Washington, DC: Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute/Brookings Institution. Available from www.taxpolicycenter.org.
16.
LeeteLauraBaniaNeil. 2010. The effect of income shocks on food insufficiency. Review of Economics of the Household8(4): 505–526.
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LenhartOtto. 2022. The earned income tax credit and food insecurity. American Journal of Agricultural Economics105(5): 1543–1570.
18.
MabliJamesOhlsJimDragosetLisaCastnerLauraSantosBetsy. 2013. Measuring the effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation on food security. Washington, DC: Food and Nutrition Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Available from https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Measuring2013.pdf.
19.
MoellmanNicholas. 2020. Healthcare and hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid expansions on food insecurity in America. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy42(2): 168–186.
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MoellmanNicholasVaughnCody. 2024. Medicaid generosity and food hardship among children. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management43(2): 400–419.
21.
NordMarkPrellMark. 2011. Food security improved following the 2009 ARRA increase in SNAP benefits. Economic Research Report ERR-116. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Available from www.ers.usda.gov.
22.
ParolinZacharyAnanatElizabethCollyerSophie M.CurranMeganWimerChristopher. 2021. The initial effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on material hardship. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 29285, Cambridge, MA.
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Perez-LopezDaniel J.11August2021. Economic hardship declined in households with children as child tax payments arrived. Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau. Available from www.census.gov.
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PetersonSandraToriboNorilsaFarberJamesHornickDavid. 2021. Nonresponse bias report for the 2020 Household Pulse Survey. Washington, DC: Demographic Statistical Methods Division, United States Census Bureau. Available from www.census.gov.
25.
PilkauskasNatashaMichelmoreKatherineKovskiNicoleShaeferH. Luke. 2022. The effects of income on the economic wellbeing of families with low incomes: Evidence from the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 30533, Cambridge, MA.
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RatcliffeCarolineMcKernanSigne-MaryZhangSisi. 2011. How much does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reduce food insecurity?American Journal of Agricultural Economics93(4): 1082–1098.
27.
RollStephenChunYungBruggerLauraHamiltonLeah. 2021. How are American families using their Child Tax Credit payments? Evidence from census data. St. Louis, MO: Social Policy Institute, Washington University in St. Louis. Available from sites.wustl.edu.
28.
RookJordan M.YamaCecile L.SchickedanzAdam B.FeuerbachAlec M.LeeSteven L.WiskLauren E.2023. Changes in self-reported adult health and household food security with the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit monthly payments. JAMA Health Forum4(6): e231672.
29.
SchanzenbachDianePittsAbigail. 2020. Food insecurity in the Census Household Pulse Survey data tables. Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University. Available from www.ipr.northwestern.edu.
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SchmidtLucieShore-SheppardLaraWatsonTara. 2016. The effect of safety-net programs on food insecurity. Journal of Human Resources51(3): 589–614.
31.
ShaferPaul R.GutiérrezKatherine M.de CubaStephanie EttingerBovell-AmmonAllisonRaifmanJulia. 2022. Association of the implementation of Child Tax Credit advance payments with food insufficiency in US households. JAMA Network Open5(1): e2143296.
32.
ZiliakJames P.2021. Food hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and Great Recession. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy43(1): 132–152.
33.
ZippelClaire. 2021. 9 in 10 families with low incomes are using child tax credits to pay for necessities, education. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available from www.cbpp.org.
