The Oregon Earned Income Credit’s Impact on Child Poverty

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building off the success of the federal earned income tax credit (EITC), states have developed earned income credits to supplement the incomes of the working poor. In 2016, a distinctive change to the Oregon Earned Income Credit (OEIC) targeted additional resources to families with young children. Using a unique data set and static estimates, we found that the OEIC yielded proportional decreases in child and young child poverty of 1.8 and 2.6%, respectively. By simulating alternative OEIC policies, we also found that significant increases to OEIC rates or takeup would be required to more aggressively reduce child poverty.