The earned income tax credit provides important benefits to low-income families with children. At substantial costs (over $70 billion to the US federal government), it increases the incomes of such families while encouraging parents to work more by subsidizing their incomes. But low-income...

Die relativ hohe Arbeitslosigkeit von weniger qualifizierten Arbeitskräften hat viele Industrieländer dazu veranlasst, die Beschäftigung im Niedriglohnbereich zu fördern. Maßnahmen, wie beschäftigungsabhängige Steuergutschriften und Transferleistungen an Niedrigverdiener, die vor allem in...

Boosting paychecks in America -- The political origins of federal taxes on individual income -- The political origins of the federal minimum wage -- Reagan, Bush, and a new era in the politics of boosting paychecks -- Clinton and the fight over tax relief for the working poor or the middle class...

Minimum wage increases are not a very effective mechanism for reducing poverty. They are not related to decreases in poverty rates. They can cost some low-income workers their jobs. And most minimum wage earners who gain from a higher minimum wage do not live in poor (or near-poor) families. A...