All Research
Report
Funding the Administration of Unemployment Benefits: Overview and Reforms to Improve Efficiency and Program Integrity
Executive Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant flaws in the nation’s unemployment insurance (UI) system,…
Report
Stranded by the Safety Net: How to Fix the Benefit Cliff Problem
Key Points Executive Summary The US safety net should help low-income families meet their immediate…
Report
Work Requirement Waivers Increased FoodShare Caseloads and Costs in Wisconsin
At the time this report was prepared, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program limited benefits for able-bodied adults without dependent children to three months out of a three-year period unless they worked or participated in qualifying activities for at least 80 hours per month. This report argues that frequent waivers of this requirement in Wisconsin weakened its implementation and increased program participation. Analysis of FoodShare data from 2012 to 2023 suggests that waiving the requirement increased participation by roughly 780 adults per county per month, or about 56,000 additional recipients statewide, and increased program spending. Expanded participation among work-capable adults is associated with lower employment and greater reliance on government assistance.
Report
House Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on Misuse of TANF Funds
Introduction: Chairman Smith (R-MO), Ranking Member Neal (D-MA), and members of the House Committee on…
Report
The effect of taxes and transfers on low-earning workers’ income.
Despite misperceptions that the United States is limping through late-stage capitalism, American workers are more…
Report
Measuring What Matters: Context and Recommendations to Improve Reporting on Unemployment Insurance
Key Points Read the PDF.
Report
An Early Look at the Child Tax Credit Changes in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 would expand the child tax credit by increasing the refundable credit, indexing the maximum benefit to inflation, raising the phase-in rate for families with multiple children, and allowing a one-year earnings lookback. These changes would increase benefits primarily for lower-earning families, especially those with multiple children or intermittent work. However, the policy would have mixed effects on incentives: The faster phase-in would strengthen incentives to enter work at low earnings levels but discourage some families from increasing their earnings or getting married. In addition, the lookback provision would generally weaken work participation incentives.
Report
Pandemic Unemployment Fraud in Context: Causes, Costs, and Solutions
Key Points Read the PDF.
Report
Small-Dollar Demonstration Projects Can’t Hide That a National Guaranteed Income Program Would Cost Trillions
While some have declared that short-term guaranteed income demonstrations (patterned on universal basic income schemes) are working almost universally, such cheerleading misses a major drawback: the enormous costs that would arise if such programs operated at a national level, as proponents intend. This report reviews the costs of some recent proposals to operate such national guaranteed income programs, which stretch into trillions of dollars per year and are generally layered on existing welfare and related programs.