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Education, Maternal Smoking, and the Earned Income Tax Credit

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  • Cowan Benjamin

    (Washington State University)

  • Tefft Nathan

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

We estimate and explore mechanisms of the impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions on the smoking behavior of women. Differential increases in federal EITC benefits by family size in the mid-1990s allow for a comparison of smoking status changes between mothers with one and more than one child. We exploit these changes in a difference-in-differences framework using data from the 1993-2001 waves of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and show that the increase in EITC benefits yielded a significant decline in the likelihood of being a current smoker among unmarried mothers with less than a college degree. Although women with a high school degree or less and women with some college education received similar benefit increases on average and exhibited similar labor supply responses, the reduction in the likelihood of smoking was concentrated among those with some college.

Suggested Citation

  • Cowan Benjamin & Tefft Nathan, 2012. "Education, Maternal Smoking, and the Earned Income Tax Credit," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-39, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:12:y:2012:i:1:n:45
    DOI: 10.1515/1935-1682.3305
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    Cited by:

    1. Cooper, Kerris & Stewart, Kitty, 2017. "Does Money Affect Children’s Outcomes? An update," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103494, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Reader, Mary, 2023. "The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: evidence from England and Wales," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118458, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Megan M. Reynolds & Patricia A. Homan, 2023. "Income Support Policy Packages and Birth Outcomes in U.S. States: An Ecological Analysis," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Donald S. Kenkel & Maximilian D. Schmeiser & Carly Urban, 2014. "Is Smoking Inferior?: Evidence from Variation in the Earned Income Tax Credit," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(4), pages 1094-1120.
    5. George L. Wehby & Dhaval M. Dave & Robert Kaestner, 2020. "Effects of the Minimum Wage on Infant Health," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 411-443, March.
    6. Kerris Cooper & Kitty Stewart, 2021. "Does Household Income Affect children’s Outcomes? A Systematic Review of the Evidence," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 981-1005, June.
    7. Lucie Schmidt & Lara Shore‐Sheppard & Tara Watson, 2023. "The Effect of Safety Net Generosity on Maternal Mental Health and Risky Health Behaviors," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(3), pages 706-736, June.
    8. Mary Reader, 2021. "The birthweight effects of universal child benefits in pregnancy: quasi-experimental evidence from England and Wales," CASE Papers /222, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    9. Cooper, Kerris & Stewart, Kitty, 2020. "Does household income affect children’s outcomes? A systematic review of the evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107029, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Bastian, Jacob E. & Jones, Maggie R., 2021. "Do EITC expansions pay for themselves? Effects on tax revenue and government transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Averett, Susan L. & Wang, Yang, 2015. "The Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Children's Health, Quality of Home Environment, and Non-Cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 9173, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Kerris Cooper & Kitty Stewart, 2017. "Does Money Affect Children's Outcomes? An update," CASE Papers /203, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    13. Reader, Mary, 2023. "The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: Evidence from England and Wales," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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