Work

Can Nudges Increase Take-Up of the EITC? Evidence from Multiple Field Experiments

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) distributes more than $60 billion to over 20 million low-income families annually. Nevertheless, an estimated one-fifth of eligible households do not claim it. We ran six pre-registered, large-scale field experiments to test whether “nudges” could increase EITC take-up (N=1million). Despite varying the content, design, messenger, and mode of our messages, we find no evidence that they affected households’ likelihood of filing a tax return or claiming the credit. We conclude that even the most behaviorally informed low-touch outreach efforts cannot overcome the barriers faced by low-income households who do not file returns.

Source: American Economic Journal Economic Policy

DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200603

Authors: Elizabeth Linos, Allen Prohofsky, Aparna Ramesh, Jesse Rothstein, Matthew Unrath

Institutions: Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, State of California

Language: English

Topic: Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Subfield: General Decision Sciences

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W3184780484

FWCI: 9.291

Cites: 34

Cited by: 71

Related to: 10