State Earned Income Tax Credits and Intimate Partner Violence

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Economics
• Criminology

Background:

• Employment and income are vital for intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors' safety and well-being.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an anti-poverty policy designed to boost workforce participation.
• Understanding the economic factors influencing IPV is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) policies on the incidence of physical intimate partner violence (IPV).
• To determine if variations in EITC benefit levels correlate with changes in IPV rates.

Main Methods:

• Utilized National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 2011-2019.
• Employed a generalized linear model with fixed-effects individual slopes.
• Analyzed the relationship between state EITC benefit levels and quarterly state-level IPV rates.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant correlation was found between higher state EITC benefit levels and lower rates of reported physical IPV.
• Increased EITC generosity was associated with a reduction in IPV incidents reported to law enforcement.

Conclusions:

• State-level Earned Income Tax Credit policies may serve as an effective economic intervention to reduce intimate partner violence.
• Further research can explore the mechanisms through which EITC influences IPV and its broader impact on survivor safety.