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

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.