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Author: Savidge-Wilkins, Galen G.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Savidge-Wilkins, Galen G.
The Relationship Between Parental Receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Children's High School Dropout Status
Ph.D. Dissertation, Georgetown University, 2012
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Children, Poverty; Dropouts; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Educational Attainment; Educational Outcomes; Family Income; Head Start; High School Completion/Graduates; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Pre-natal Care/Exposure; School Progress

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The Earned Income Tax Credit was established to provide low-income families with relief from the payroll tax, but it has grown over time to become the largest means tested cash transfer program and one of the most substantial federal supports for the working poor. While the EITC has been studied extensively, the literature has largely focused on its ability to encourage work, particularly among mothers. (Eissa and Liebman 1996, Eissa and Hoynes 1998, Meyer and Rossenbaum 2000) There is a growing research literature on other effects of the EITC, including its impact on child cognitive ability and maternal health. (Dahl and Lochner 2011, Evans and Garthwaite 2011) However, there is little research into how this component of the safety net impacts a key outcome for children, high school graduation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on mothers and their children to construct a rich personal history for each child, I examine the relationship between parental receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit and children's likelihood of graduating from high school on time. Within my sample, EITC receipt is found to be most strongly associated with on-time graduation when these benefits are received during two life stages: before the children enter school and when children are in middle school. My results indicate that a $1,000 increase in average yearly real EITC receipt before the children enter school is associated with a 6.80 percentage point increase in the likelihood of finishing high school on-time, and 1.56 percentage point improvement when that same increase in average real EITC receipt occurs during middle school. Analyses of specific disadvantaged subgroups yield statistically significant results during the same life stages and a stronger positive relationship between EITC receipt and high school graduation for those children.
Bibliography Citation
Savidge-Wilkins, Galen G. The Relationship Between Parental Receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Children's High School Dropout Status. Ph.D. Dissertation, Georgetown University, 2012.