# Evaluation of State Earned Income Tax Credit Policies for the Primary Prevention of Multiple Forms of Violence: A Natural Experiment

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $349,802

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The federal earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest cash transfer program for low-earning workers in the
United States, is an economic policy to reduce poverty. Each year, the program provides earning subsidies in
the form of tax credits to certain workers based on their pretax earnings, marital status, and number of
children. In 1986, Rhode Island enacted the first state EITC supplementing the federal program. By 2017, 29
states and the District of Columbia had created their own EITC. Most states offer refundable EITCs where any
excess of the credit beyond the tax liability is paid as a refund; however, a few states only offer non-refundable
EITCs where credit offsets tax liability but cannot convert to a refund. State EITCs are largely set as a flat
percentage of the federal credit and range widely. The notable variability in the existence, type, and generosity
of state EITCs has provided opportunities to examine various effects of these policies. Evidence has emerged
on the impact of EITC on health and well-being; however, there is a striking dearth of research on the impact of
EITC on violence. Our knowledge on whether, for whom, and why these policies are effective in preventing
multiple forms of violence is severely limited. Guided by a specific Theory of Change model, we will leverage a
“natural experiment” through using the state policy variations resulting from the adoption and expansion of
state EITCs over the past three decades to examine their impact on child maltreatment, youth violence,
intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and suicide. We will use several administrative, surveillance, and
survey data sources containing information on a variety of violence outcomes to address our aims over the
period 1986-2017. As a multidisciplinary team of investigators with expertise in public health, public policy, and
medicine, we will conduct a quasi-experimental study to: (1) Evaluate the magnitude of the impact of state
EITCs existence, type, and generosity on the primary prevention of each of the five forms of violence, namely
child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and suicide; (2) Explore whether
the impact of state EITCs on these forms of violence differs by specific state-level and individual-level
characteristics; and (3) Examine whether state EITCs influence specific shared risk and protective factors for
these forms of violence, namely stress, parenting practices, material well-being, relationship quality, and
financial independence. The proposed project will be the first comprehensive evaluation of the impact of state
EITCs as a primary prevention strategy for multiple forms of violence. Considering the sheer burden of
violence as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States, even a modest impact of state
EITCs in preventing some forms of violence may translate to positive changes in a sizeable number of lives
across the lifespan. Characterizing a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9993163
- **Project number:** 5U01CE002945-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $349,802
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2021-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9993163

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9993163, Evaluation of State Earned Income Tax Credit Policies for the Primary Prevention of Multiple Forms of Violence: A Natural Experiment (5U01CE002945-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9993163. Licensed CC0.

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