Effects of Prenatal Poverty on Infant Health: State Earned Income Tax Credits and Birth Weight

Kate W. Strully, David H. Rehkopf, and Ziming Xuanc, 2010. This study estimates the effects of prenatal poverty on birth weight using changes in state EITCS as a natural experiment. Researchers find that state EITCs increase birth weights and reduce maternal smoking. However, results related to AFDC/TANF and varying EITC effects across maternal ages raise cautionary messages.

http://www.irp.wisc.edu/newsevents/workshops/2011/participants/papers/15-Strully.pdf