This paper calculates the EITC’s net cost by estimating effects, both direct and through recipients’ behavioral changes, on tax revenue and government transfer spending. We show that the EITC increases labor supply and income, thereby increasing the taxes households pay and reducing the government transfer payments they receive. Using linked IRS–CPS data and several EITC policy changes, and focusing on married and unmarried women, we find that the EITC’s net cost is only 17 percent of the ($70 billion) budgetary cost over a one-year period. Although the EITC is one of the U.S.’s largest and most important public assistance programs, the EITC is actually one of the U.S.’s least expensive anti-poverty programs.

本文通过估算直接和通过接受者的行为变化对税收和政府转移支出的影响来计算EITC的净成本。我们表明，EITC增加了劳动力供应和收入，从而增加了家庭支付的税款并减少了他们收到的政府转移支付。使用链接的IRS-CPS数据和EITC的若干政策变化，并以已婚和未婚妇女为重点，我们发现EITC的净成本仅占一年期预算成本（700亿美元）的17％。尽管EITC是美国规模最大，最重要的公共援助计划之一，但EITC实际上是美国最便宜的反贫困计划之一。