In this report, published by The Century Foundation, we model two approaches to reduce child poverty in the United States—a universal child allowance and an expanded Child Tax Credit. A universal child allowance is a cash benefit that is provided to all families with children without regard to their income, earnings, or other qualifying conditions, and that could be subject to taxes for families with high incomes. The U.S. Child Tax Credit, in contrast, is provided only to families that meet a threshold for earnings, phasing in as earnings increase and then phasing out as earnings rise higher. While most other advanced industrialized countries have some kind of universal support for children, the U.S. does not.
For each approach, we begin with a modest reform, and then model increasingly generous versions. In our simulations, we find that even modest reforms generate important poverty reductions. Our results also make clear that the more we spend on these programs, the greater the reduction in child poverty the U.S. can achieve.
Suggested Citation:
Garfinkel, Irwin, David Harris, Jane Waldfogel, and Christopher Wimer. 2016. Doing more for our children: Modeling a universal child allowance or more generous Child Tax Credit. New York, NY: The Century Foundation.
Published on March 16, 2016