Our employment research examines the anti-poverty effects of policies like the minimum wage, subsidized employment programs, and unemployment benefits, as well as the effect of conditioning access to basic needs – such as health care and food assistance – on employment. We analyze the effects of these policies on poverty, material hardships, and related outcomes, as well as the effects of conditioning access to benefits on employment outcomes themselves. We explore the impact of existing and proposed policies at the federal and state level, and in New York City.
Research
2025
- Poverty at age 30 across birth cohorts: Changing returns to education and employment, Population Research and Policy Review—May 2025
2024
- When money and mental health problems pile up: The reciprocal relationship between income and psychological distress, Social Science & Medicine-Population Health—Mar 2024
- Transitioning to adulthood: Are conventional benchmarks as protective today as they were in the past? Social Science Research—Feb 2024
2023
- Income guarantee policy design: Implications for poverty, income distribution, and tax rates, National Tax Journal—June 2023
- Intra-year employment instability and economic well-being among urban households: Mitigating effects of the social safety net, Children and Youth Services Review—Feb 2023
- The effects of the New York City minimum wage increases on earnings, poverty, and material hardship: Evidence from the Poverty Tracker, working paper—Jan 2023
2022
- The effects of the 2021 monthly Child Tax Credit on child and family well-being: Evidence from New York City, Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World—Dec 2022
- Exposure to childhood poverty and racial differences in economic opportunity in young adulthood, Demography—Nov 2022
- A benefit-cost analysis of child care subsidy expansions: The New York State case, working paper—Aug 2022
- Poverty after birth: How mothers experience and navigate U.S. safety net programs to address family needs, Journal of Child and Family Studies—May 2022
- Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on employment outcomes: Evidence from real-world data from April to December 2021, National Bureau of Economic Research working paper—Mar 2022
- Related earlier version: Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on employment outcomes: Evidence from real-world data from April to September 2021, working paper—Oct 2021
- Paying for child care to work? Evaluating the role of policy in affordable care and child poverty, Social Service Review—Mar 2022
- Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on employment outcomes: Evidence from real-world data from April to December 2021, National Bureau of Economic Research working paper—Mar 2022
- Related earlier version: Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on employment outcomes: Evidence from real-world data from April to September 2021, working paper—Oct 2021
2020
- Young adult poverty in historical perspective: The role of policy supports and early labor market experiences, Social Science Research—Feb 2020
2019
- Gender in the labor market: The role of equal opportunity and family-friendly policies, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences—Dec 2019
- Young adult poverty in historical perspective: The role of policy supports and early labor market experiences, Social Science Research—Feb 2019
2015
- Trends in deep poverty: The influence of family structure, employment patterns, and the safety net, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences—Nov 2015
2023
- A benefit-cost analysis of child care subsidy expansions: The New York State case—Aug 2023
- The costs of cutting cash assistance to children and families: Changing TANF work requirements could cost society up to $30 billion per year—May 2023
2022
- Research roundup of the expanded Child Tax Credit: One year on—Nov 2022
- Related earlier version: First six months—Dec 2021
2021
- A lifetime’s worth of benefits: The effects of affordable, high-quality child care on family income, the gender earnings gap, and women’s retirement security—Sept 2021
- State fact sheets: Policy options to address youth and young adult poverty—May 2021
- The potential poverty reduction effect of the American Rescue Plan—Mar 2021
- U.S. monthly poverty rate declines to 13.2% in January 2021—Mar 2021
2020
- Monthly poverty to spike after expiration of the CARES Act unemployment benefit—Dec 2020
- Parental unemployment reaches historic highs during the COVID-19 pandemic—Dec 2020
- The CARES Act and poverty in the COVID-19 crisis—June 2020
- Forecasting estimates of poverty during the COVID-19 crisis—Apr 2020
2019
- Fighting poverty with jobs: Projecting the impacts of a national subsidized employment program—June 2019
- Limiting states’ ability to waive federal SNAP work requirements: A closer look at the potential implications—March 2019
- Medicaid work requirements and poverty: Losing coverage could cost families over $1,000 per year, throwing many into poverty—Jan 2019
2018
2017
2026
2025
- Parental job loss during COVID-19 and effects on children’s behavioral health—Dec 2025
- Job loss and recovery among mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic —Dec 2025
2024
- Spotlight on: Child care-related work disruption in the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker—Sept 2024
- Spotlight on: Young adults in New York City—June 2024
- Portrait of disadvantage among women in NYC— Mar 2024
2023
- New York City’s 3-K for All supports mothers’ labor force participation- poverty tracker— Sept 2023
- Work and education after the pandemic: Who was left behind?—Mar 2023
- The effects of the New York City minimum wage increases on earnings, poverty, and material hardship: Evidence from the Poverty Tracker, working paper—Jan 2023
2022
- The effects of the 2021 monthly Child Tax Credit on child and family well-being: Evidence from New York City, Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World—Dec 2022
- Poverty and hardship among families with young children before and during the pandemic—July 2022
2021
- Direct cash benefits during the pandemic: Spending, saving and returning to work—Oct 2021
- Child care, affordability, accessibility, and the costs of disruption—July 2021
2020
- Disability in New York City: Poverty, hardship, and COVID-19—Dec 2020
- Spotlight on hunger: Food hardship in New York City is rising as New Yorkers wait for a second federal stimulus bill—Nov 2020
- Spotlight on COVID-19: The deepening economic insecurity and racial inequity—Oct 2020
- Spotlight on COVID-19 and paid sick leave in NYC—Apr 2020
2018
2017
The Poverty Tracker is a joint project with Robin Hood