Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic downturn, there is a large amount of new data on innovative policies and programs at the state and federal levels. Programs such as cash transfers, income replacement, housing and food assistance, and expanded health insurance and tax credits, can be used to better understand the impact emergency/temporary policies designed to promote health and economic well-being among families, especially during the years of the pandemic, and how they can be used to create long-term equitable outcomes.
This project will build on previous IWPR research using the US Census Household Pulse Survey and Current Population Survey basic monthly data to explore the impact of the decline of household income on food sufficiency and labor market participation of women and families. The study aims to better understand the impact of federal- and state-level relief programs (housing assistance, unemployment/income replacement, and nutrition assistance) on the economic well-being of families during the Pandemic, including the impacts of ending those programs. The study will also examine how lower-wage workers and Black and Latina women used the expanded child tax credit to meet their economic needs and the impact of the expiration of the child tax credit on their health and economic well-being over time.