We address the role of “psychological frictions” in the incomplete take-up of EITC benefits
with an IRS field experiment. We specifically assess the influence of program confusion …

What the financial diaries of working-class families reveal about economic stresses, why
they happen, and what policies might reduce them Deep within the American Dream lies the …

How can price elasticities be identified when agents face optimization frictions such as
adjustment costs or inattention? I derive bounds on structural price elasticities that are a …

This article aims to provide an overview of the main mechanisms underlying non-take-up by
bringing together insights from existing theoretical models and the large body of empirical …

A strong consensus posits that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has had sizable effects
on extensive margin labor supply, especially for single mothers. This paper reappraises the …

This paper reviews the literature on the incidence of consumption and labor taxes and
focuses on the empirical results that show stark departures from the canonical model of tax …

Expanding access to financial services holds the promise to help reduce poverty and spur
economic development. But, as a practical matter, commercial banks have faced challenges …

We conducted a randomized experiment with 43,000 EITC recipients at H&R Block. Tax
preparers gave simple, personalized information about the EITC schedule to half of their …

The annual receipt of large tax refunds, primarily due to the Earned Income Tax Credit
(EITC), provides households with unusual opportunities to pay old bills and build assets. To …

In this article, I review the most prominent provision of the federal income tax code that
targets low-income tax filers, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), as well as the structurally …