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Research Article
Open Access

A Universal Child Allowance: A Plan to Reduce Poverty and Income Instability Among Children in the United States

H. Luke Shaefer, Sophie Collyer, Greg Duncan, Kathryn Edin, Irwin Garfinkel, David Harris, Timothy M. Smeeding, Jane Waldfogel, Christopher Wimer, Hirokazu Yoshikawa
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences February 2018, 4 (2) 22-42; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.02
H. Luke Shaefer
aAssociate professor of social work and public policy and director of Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
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Sophie Collyer
bResearch analyst at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work
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Greg Duncan
cDistinguished professor in the School of Education at University of California, Irvine
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Kathryn Edin
dBloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Zanvyl Krieger School and Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University
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Irwin Garfinkel
eMitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems and interim dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work
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David Harris
fPresident of Children’s Research and Education Institute and an associate of the Columbia Population Research Center
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Timothy M. Smeeding
gLee Rainwater Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
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Jane Waldfogel
hCompton Foundation Centennial Professor for the Prevention of Children’s and Youth Problems at Columbia University School of Social Work
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Christopher Wimer
iCo-director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work
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Hirokazu Yoshikawa
jCourtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education and professor at New York University
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    Figure 1.

    Federal Expenditures on Children by Major Cash and Near-Cash Programs, 2015 (in Billions)

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    Figure 2.

    Child Income Poverty Rates, 2012

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    Figure 3.

    Child Poverty Falls Dramatically with a Universal Child Allowance

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    Figure 4.

    Young Child Poverty Falls Dramatically with a Universal Child Allowance

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    Figure 5.

    Poverty Rates for Children Within Demographic Groups

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    Figure 6.

    Net Gain in SPM Resources for Recipient Families

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 4 (2)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 4, Issue 2
1 Feb 2018
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A Universal Child Allowance: A Plan to Reduce Poverty and Income Instability Among Children in the United States
H. Luke Shaefer, Sophie Collyer, Greg Duncan, Kathryn Edin, Irwin Garfinkel, David Harris, Timothy M. Smeeding, Jane Waldfogel, Christopher Wimer, Hirokazu Yoshikawa
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (2) 22-42; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.02

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A Universal Child Allowance: A Plan to Reduce Poverty and Income Instability Among Children in the United States
H. Luke Shaefer, Sophie Collyer, Greg Duncan, Kathryn Edin, Irwin Garfinkel, David Harris, Timothy M. Smeeding, Jane Waldfogel, Christopher Wimer, Hirokazu Yoshikawa
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (2) 22-42; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.02
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • BACKGROUND
    • BASING POLICY ON EVIDENCE AND PRINCIPLES
    • UNIVERSAL CHILD ALLOWANCE AND ITS IMPACTS ON POVERTY
    • CONCLUSION
    • APPENDIX: SIMULATION PROCEDURES
    • FOOTNOTES
    • REFERENCES
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  • Info & Metrics
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Keywords

  • child poverty
  • Child Tax Credit
  • income instability
  • social welfare policy

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