Coffin Corner

  

 

Building on previous research on the Earned Income Tax Credit, we set out to study the impact of tax expenditures on intergenerational mobility. We find substantial variation in the economic outcomes of children from low income families across areas of the United States. Some areas have rates of upward mobility comparable to the most mobile countries in the world while others have lower rates of mobility than any developed country for which data are currently available. These geographical differences are modestly correlated with variation in tax expenditure policies across areas. But much variation in children's success across areas remains to be explained, potentially by factors such as income segregation, school quality, or social capital.  Read More