Safety Net Investments in Children (November 2018)
(with Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Brookings Papers on Econonomic Activity, Fall 2018.
Abstract
In this paper, we examine what groups of children are served by core childhood social safety net programs -- including Medicaid, EITC, CTC, SNAP, and AFDC/TANF -- and how they have changed over time. We find that virtually all gains in spending on the social safety net for children since 1990 have gone to families with earnings, and to families with income above the poverty line. These trends are the result of welfare reform and the expansion of in-work tax credits. We review the available research and find that access to safety net programs during childhood improves outcomes for children and society over the long run. This evidence suggests that the recent changes to the social safety net may have lasting negative impacts on the poorest children.
Additional Information
Press:
- Wall Street Journal - The Federal Government Spends a Lot More on the Elderly Than on Children. Should It?
- Brookings - Safety net investments in children
- Washington Post - The U.S. spends less on children than almost any other developed nation
- The Economist - How welfare reform has hurt America’s poorest children
- New York Times - To Make America Richer, Help Poor Children
- Bloomberg Opinion - Verdict Is In: Food Stamps Put Poor Kids on Path to Success
- The Economist - How many Americans live on $2 a day?
- LA Times - Column: Trump proposes denying free school meals to half a million children
- Washington Post - Why aren’t more Americans working? Fed Chair Powell says blame education and drugs, not welfare.
- New York Times - The Safety Net Got a Quick Patch. What Happens After the Coronavirus?