Reducing poverty simultaneously addresses two important public policy goals: it increases economic equality among citizens, and it reduces related social problems, such as crime.
Investigating how policy can best support the unemployed and low-wage workers in their efforts to find work and provide for their families is of interest to the Upjohn Institute. For instance, use of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) grew dramatically during the Great Recession, as did the number of people eligible for unemployment insurance (UI). Upjohn researchers investigated SNAP use before and after UI application to determine if it was correlated with UI eligibility.
Change could make child-care credit work for lowest-income working families
Making the credit refundable would benefit the poorest working families and narrow the gaps between white and nonwhite households