Causal inference methods are widely used in empirical research; however, there is a paucity of evidence on the properties of shared latent factor estimators in the presence of contaminated instrumental variable (IV) when a strong IV may not be available. We present a theoretical formulation to...

The impact of group-based credit programs on the nutritional status of children by gender in rural Bangladesh is evaluated. Lacking exclusion restrictions of the usual sort, the effect of credit program participation by gender of participant is identified by imposing a factor structure on the...

We use administrative data from the IRS to examine the long-term impact of childhood Medicaid expansions. We use eligibility variation by cohort and state that we can relate to outcomes graphically. We find that children with greater Medicaid eligibility paid more in cumulative taxes by age 28....

How much work is ‘‘too much’’ for children aged 10-14 in Egypt? Our narrow focus here is on ‘‘work that does not interfere with school attendance.’’ For girls, work includes time spent in household chores and subsistence activities. We estimate simultaneous hours of work and...

Working parents with children—particularly low-income families— face prohibitive tax rates that discourage taking on extra employment to get ahead, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Two-Parent Families with Children: How Effective Tax Rates Affect Work...

Using four decades of variation in the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit, we estimate the impact of the EITC on education and employment outcomes on children exposed to EITC expansions in childhood. Reduced-form results suggest that an additional $1,000 in EITC exposure when a child is...

In 2011, the Census Bureau released its first report on the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The SPM addresses many criticisms of the official poverty measure, and its intent is to provide an improved statistical picture of poverty. This article examines the extent of poverty identified by...

UNICEF initiated a multi-country initiative to better understand the dynamics of investing in human capital in the Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR). The project sought to identify potential opportunities for governments to increase expenditure on the sectors that matter most for...

It is often argued that social and economic investments that benefit children and poor households are not affordable or that government expenditure cuts are inevitable during adjustment periods. But there are alternatives, even in the poorest countries. This working paper offers an array of...