American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Is the EITC as Good as an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 177–208)
Abstract
The EITC is intended to encourage work. But EITC-induced increases in labor supply may drive wages down. I simulate the economic incidence of the EITC. In each scenario that I consider, a large portion of low-income single mothers' EITC payments is captured by employers through reduced wages. Workers who are EITC ineligible also see wage declines. By contrast, a traditional Negative Income Tax (NIT) discourages work, and so induces large transfers from employers to their workers. With my preferred parameters, $1 in EITC spending increases after-tax incomes by $0.73, while $1 spent on the NIT yields $1.39. (JEL H22, H23, H24, H31, J22)Citation
Rothstein, Jesse. 2010. "Is the EITC as Good as an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2 (1): 177–208. DOI: 10.1257/pol.2.1.177Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H22 Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence
- H23 Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
- H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
- H31 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply