In early 2021, Congress expanded the existing Child Tax Credit (CTC), increasing the credit’s maximum value (up to $3,000 for school-age children and $3,600 for children under the age of six). Half of the credit was issued monthly to most families from July to December 2021. The temporary expansion was further made fully refundable, meaning that for one year, even very low-income families qualified. In this study, we draw on a novel, multi-wave probability-based panel survey of more than 1,000 CTC recipients to understand the credit’s impact on families. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines logistic regression and qualitative content analysis, we find that most respondents reported that the CTC made it easier for them to support their families, afford utility bills, and cover housing costs. Over one-third of respondents also stated that the CTC allowed them to pay for extracurricular activities for their children and save for their child’s future education, and spend more time with their children. In open-ended responses, parents describe that the CTC had a generally positive effect: it helped with bills/utilities, allowed families to save, helped with groceries/food, covered necessities for children, and reduced stress for parents. Conversely, some reported that it had no effects or made no difference. We also assess how participant demographics and political affiliation are associated with each theme.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. households have experienced job or income losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liquid assets mitigate financial distress in the face of financial shocks such as job loss, yet this relationship in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. households (N = 4,383) who completed a survey in the early days of the pandemic, we examined pre-pandemic liquid assets as a moderator of the relationship between job and income loss and difficulty meeting financial obligations and use of high-cost financial resources. Estimates from propensity score-weighted linear probability models indicated that greater liquid assets lessened the probability of experiencing all eight measures of financial distress and most measures of distress among households experiencing job or income losses. Policy efforts to help households build emergency savings can help households better prepare for future pandemics while also supporting public health responses.

Low‐ and moderate‐income households often struggle to save, but the annual tax refund represents a prime opportunity for these households to save toward their financial goals or build their emergency savings. This paper presents the results of a randomized, controlled experiment embedded in a free tax‐preparation product offered in 2013 to low‐ and moderate‐income households. The experiment involved approximately 470,000 filers and assessed the impact of behavioral interventions on their savings behaviors. The results show that filers exposed to the treatments, which involved the established behavioral‐economics techniques of anchoring, choice architecture, and persuasive messaging, were more likely than a control group to save their tax refund and, on average, saved more of the refund. A follow‐up survey of these tax filers found that the treatments were associated with saving more of the tax refund six months after filing. The findings also show that anchors encouraging filers to deposit certain amounts are more effective than persuasive messaging emphasizing savings.

Objectives To explore if the COVID-19 pandemic revealed differences across racial groups in coping, resilience, and optimism, all of which have implications for health and mental well-being. Methods We collect data obtained from four rounds of a national sample of 5,000 US survey respondents in each round from April 2020 to February 2021. Using logistic regression and fixed effects models, we estimate the pandemic impacts on COVID-19 related concerns, social distancing behaviors, and mental health/life satisfaction and optimism for racial/income groups. Results Despite extreme income and health disparities before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, Blacks and Hispanics remain more resilient and optimistic than their White counterparts. Moreover, the greatest difference in resilience, optimism and better mental health—is found between poor Blacks and poor Whites, a difference that persists through all four rounds. Conclusions These deep differences in resilience have implications for the long-term mental health of different population groups in the face of an unprecedented pandemic. Better understanding these dynamics may provide lessons on how to preserve mental health in the face of public health and other large-scale crises.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic required significant changes and adaptations for most Americans, parents faced acute challenges as they had to navigate rapidly changing schooling and child care policies requiring their children to spend more time at home. This study examines the effects of COVID-19 school and workplace policies as well as environmental and economic characteristics on parental mental health, worry, hopelessness, and anxiety. Using data from four waves of the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey and regression analysis, we explore associations between parents’ mental health, worry, hopelessness, and anxiety and school learning environment, child grade and learning disability, employment characteristics, and sociodemographic factors. We find that having a child attend a private school or school with above average instructional quality was associated with better mental health of parents. Hybrid schooling options offering both in-person and online learning was associated with poor parental mental health, as was working from home. Being female or experiencing job or income loss were associated with worse mental health while having older children, a bachelor’s degree, or high income were associated with better mental health. Results can help inform school and workplace family supports as well as opportunities to reduce mental health strains at home from various policy options.