PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - H. Luke Shaefer
AU  - Sophie Collyer
AU  - Greg Duncan
AU  - Kathryn Edin
AU  - Irwin Garfinkel
AU  - David Harris
AU  - Timothy M. Smeeding
AU  - Jane Waldfogel
AU  - Christopher Wimer
AU  - Hirokazu Yoshikawa
TI  - A Universal Child Allowance: A Plan to Reduce Poverty and Income Instability Among Children in the United States
AID  - 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.2.02
DP  - 2018 Feb 01
TA  - RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
PG  - 22--42
VI  - 4
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/2/22.short
4100  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/2/22.full
AB  - To reduce child poverty and income instability, and eliminate extreme poverty among families with children in the United States, we propose converting the Child Tax Credit and child tax exemption into a universal, monthly child allowance. Our proposal is based on principles we argue should undergird the design of such policies: universality, accessibility, adequate payment levels, and more generous support for young children. Whether benefits should decline with additional children to reflect economies of scale is a question policymakers should consider. Analyzing 2015 Current Population Survey data, we estimate our proposed child allowance would reduce child poverty by about 40 percent, deep child poverty by nearly half, and would effectively eliminate extreme child poverty. Annual net cost estimates range from $66 billion to $105 billion.