@article {677848,
	title = {Effect of Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to Americans without Dependent Children on Psychological Distress: The Paycheck Plus Health Study Randomized Controlled Trial},
	journal = {American Journal of Epidemiology},
	volume = {191},
	number = {8},
	year = {2022},
	pages = {1444-52},
	abstract = {Anti-poverty policies have the potential to improve mental health. We conducted a randomized trial to investigate whether a fourfold increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income Americans without dependent children would reduce psychological distress relative to the current federal credit (Paycheck Plus, New York City site). Between 2013 and 2014, 5,968 participants were recruited; 2,997 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 2,971 were assigned to the control group. Survey data were collected 32 months post-randomization (N=4,749). Eligibility for the program increased employment by 1.9 percentage points and after-bonus earnings by 6\% ($635 per year) on average over the three years. Treatment was associated with a marginally statistically-significant decline in psychological distress relative to the control group (-0.30 points; 95\% CI, -0.63 to 0.03; p=0.076). Women in the treated group experienced a half-a-point reduction in psychological distress (-0.55; 95\% CI, -0.97 to -0.13; p=0.032) and noncustodial parents reported a 1.36 point reduction (95\% CI, -2.24 to -0.49; p = 0.011) in psychological distress. An expansion of a large anti-poverty program to individuals without dependent children reduced psychological distress for women and noncustodial parents {\textendash} the groups who benefitted the most in terms of increased after-bonus earnings.},
	url = {https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/191/8/1444/6292354},
	author = {Emilie Courtin and Heidi L. Allen and Lawrence F. Katz and Cynthia Miller and Kali Aloisi and Peter A. Muennig}
}
