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Information, Preferences, and Public Benefit Participation: Experimental Evidence from the Advance EITC and 401(k) Savings

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  • Damon Jones

Abstract

Within a field experiment, I present a treatment group with reductions in information, administrative, stigma, and procrastination costs associated with the Advance EITC. The treatment increases Advance participation from 0.3 to 1.2 percent. Another treatment simultaneously encourages 401(k) savings, increasing 401(k) participation from 46 to 50 percent. However, there is no additional increase in Advance participation when coupled with the 401(k) treatment, casting doubt on a long-term forced savings motive. The results indicate that EITC recipients actively forgo the Advance. Further work is needed to identify what underlies these preferences. Possible explanations include uncertainty and/or short-term forced savings motives. (JEL D14, D82, H23, H24, H31)

Suggested Citation

  • Damon Jones, 2010. "Information, Preferences, and Public Benefit Participation: Experimental Evidence from the Advance EITC and 401(k) Savings," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 147-163, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:2:y:2010:i:2:p:147-63
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.2.2.147
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Andreas R. Kostøl & Andreas S. Myhre, 2021. "Labor Supply Responses to Learning the Tax and Benefit Schedule," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(11), pages 3733-3766, November.
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    3. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2017. "Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings? Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions," NBER Chapters, in: Personal Income Taxation and Household Behavior (TAPES), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Sylvain Chareyron & David Gray & Yannick L’Horty, 2018. "Raising Take-Up of Social Assistance Benefits through a Simple Mailing: Evidence from a French Field Experiment," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 128(5), pages 777-805.
    5. Kosonen, Tuomas & Ropponen, Olli, 2015. "The role of information in tax compliance: Evidence from a natural field experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 18-21.
    6. Kay Blaufus & Michael Milde, 2021. "Tax Misperceptions and the Effect of Informational Tax Nudges on Retirement Savings," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(8), pages 5011-5031, August.
    7. J. Michael Collins & Amrita Kulka, 2023. "Saving by buying ahead: stockpiling in response to lump‐sum payments," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 451-484, December.
    8. Eitan Regev & Michel Strawczynski, 2021. "The optimal long‐run earned income tax credit," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 17(3), pages 284-308, September.
    9. Belot, Michèle & James, Jonathan, 2016. "Partner selection into policy relevant field experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 31-56.
    10. Jeehoon Han & Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2022. "Real-Time Poverty, Material Well-Being, and the Child Tax Credit," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 817-846.
    11. Santiago Garriga & Dario Tortarolo, 2020. "Wage effects of employer-mediated transfers," Discussion Papers 2020-08, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    12. Carol Osler & Thang Nguyen & Tanseli Savaser, 2011. "Asymmetric Information and the Foreign-Exchange Trades of Global Custody Banks," Department of Economics Working Papers 2011-09, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    13. Jeehoon Han, 2020. "Snap Expansions And Participation In Government Safety Net Programs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(4), pages 1929-1948, October.
    14. Peters, Jörg & Langbein, Jörg & Roberts, Gareth, 2016. "Policy evaluation, randomized controlled trials, and external validity—A systematic review," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 51-54.
    15. Blaufus, Kay & Milde, Michael, 2018. "Learning to save tax-efficiently: Tax misperceptions and the effect of informational tax nudges on retirement savings," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 225, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    16. Mathieu Despard & Stephen Roll & Michal Grinstein‐Weiss & Bradley Hardy & Jane Oliphant, 2023. "Can behavioral nudges and incentives help lower‐income households build emergency savings with tax refunds? Evidence from field and survey experiments," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 245-263, January.
    17. Sydnee Caldwell & Scott Nelson & Daniel C. Waldinger, 2021. "Tax Refund Uncertainty: Evidence and Welfare Implications," Working Papers 2021-18, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    18. Vesal, Mohammad, 2014. "Optimization Frictions in the Choice of UK Flat Rate Scheme of VAT," MPRA Paper 101017, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Damon Jones, 2012. "Inertia and Overwithholding: Explaining the Prevalence of Income Tax Refunds," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 158-185, February.
    20. Laura Salisbury, 2024. "Union Army Widows and the Historical Take-Up of Social Benefits," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic History of American Inequality: New Evidence and Perspectives, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Nyman, Pär & Aggeborn, Linuz & Ahlskog, Rafael, 2022. "Filling in the blanks. How does information about the Swedish EITC affect labour supply?," Working Paper Series 2022:9, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    22. Julie Janssens & Natascha Van Mechelen, 2017. "Who is to Blame? An Overview of the Factors Contributing to the Non-Take-Up of Social Rights," Working Papers 1708, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    23. Goldin, Jacob & Homonoff, Tatiana & Javaid, Rizwan & Schafer, Brenda, 2022. "Tax filing and take-up: Experimental evidence on tax preparation outreach and benefit claiming," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    24. Damon Jones & Aprajit Mahajan, 2015. "Time-Inconsistency and Saving: Experimental Evidence from Low-Income Tax Filers," NBER Working Papers 21272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Karen Z. Kramer & Flávia Cristina Drumond Andrade & Andrew J. Greenlee & Ruby Mendenhall & Dylan Bellisle & Renee Lemons Blanks, 2019. "Periodic Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Payment, Financial Stress and Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 511-523, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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    1. Information, Preferences, and Public Benefit Participation: Experimental Evidence from the Advance EITC and 401(k) Savings (American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2010) in ReplicationWiki

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