Start Date: November 2023

ID #: 81357

Principal Investigator: Megan Winkler, PhD, RN

Organization: Emory University Rollins School Of Public Health

Funding Round: HER Round 13

See more related research

Share


To address ongoing concerns of child poverty across the United States, states have introduced and modified family economic security policies related to the state minimum wage (MW) and state earned income tax credit (EITC). While poor nutritional health disproportionately impacts children who experience poverty, few studies have examined the potentially beneficial effects of state-level MW and EITC on child nutrition. This study aims to: (1) estimate the effects of state EITC generosity on household food security, child adiposity, household nutrition behaviors, and overall child and parent health; (2) estimate the effects of state MW generosity on household food security, child adiposity, household nutrition behaviors, and overall child and parent health; and (3) explore the differential effects of both policies across different demographic and social groups (i.e., child age, gender, race/ethnicity, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation). The study will use a multi-state, multi-year (2000-2023) quasi-experimental difference-in-difference design to rigorously test the effects of MW and EITC state-level policies on the nutritional health of children and families and to explore the extent to which these can narrow nutrition health inequities, using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH).

Related Research

July 2025

State Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Security: Results Among Economically At-Risk Households With Children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the state Earned Income Tax Credit on food insecurity among economically at-risk U.S. households with children and explore differential effects across sociodemographic groups. The authors used an intent-to-treat causal inference design and household-level data from all 50 U.S. states available from the Current Population More

March 2025

State Minimum Wage and Food Insecurity Among US Households With Children

This study aimed to assess whether state minimum wage generosity was associated with change in food insecurity among households with children and explore differential policy impacts across sociodemographic groups. This cross-sectional study of a national sample of US households from the Current Population Survey used a 2-way fixed effects modeling approach to test whether increases More

September 2025

Food Insecurity-Related Stigma Among Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review

This review aimed to characterize individual- and structural-level stigma associated with government (ie, SNAP, WIC) and emergency food program (ie, food banks, pantries, cupboards, soup kitchens) utilization in the US. 5 databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts) were searched in June 2024. The review included peer-reviewed articles (January 2004 – June 2024), More