THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON EITC CLAIMING BEHAVIOR

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wilson, Riley
• 署名单位: Brigham Young University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00995
• 发表日期: 2022-09
• 页码: 929-945
• 关键词: income-tax credit; neighborhoods

摘要

Using the Social Connectedness Index (Bailey, Cao, Kuchler, Stroebel et al., 2018) to capture county-to-county Facebook linkages, I explore how county-level earned income tax credit (EITC) claiming behavior changes when the county's out-of-state social network is exposed to a newly implemented state EITC. Having more out-of-state friends face a state EITC shifts the composition of EITC claims toward more self-employment claiming. EITC-claiming households' income distribution also shifts, moving away from the EITC region with smaller credits, toward income levels that generate the largest EITC. This mimics the direct impacts of state-level EITC policies, consistent with social networks increasing information or salience about EITC policy.