Poverty and Opportunity
The nation suffers from persistent poverty and stagnant incomes of low- and moderate-income people. Policy Futures develops federal and state policies to reduce poverty and promote opportunity. It documents and amplifies what works, develops and advances reforms to address intractable poverty, and examines how to implement programs more effectively. It focuses in particular on reducing child poverty and enhancing longer-term economic success for today’s children and young adults.
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The Safety Net’s Strengths and Limits
With poverty in the news — including a major new book on the rise of extreme poverty and the Census Bureau’s upcoming release of the latest poverty figures — our new chart book examines the...
Chart Book: Economic Security and Health Insurance Programs Reduce Poverty and Provide Access to Needed Care
Today’s economic security programs lift tens of millions of Americans above the poverty...
Medicaid at 50: Cuts Poverty, Boosts Financial Health
Medicaid provides significant financial support to low-income beneficiaries in addition to improving their health, new research shows. Medicaid lifted 2.6 million people out of poverty in 2010,...
New Research: EITC Boosts Employment; Lifts Many More Out of Poverty Than Previously Thought
The Earned Income Tax Credit’s impact in reducing poverty is even greater than previously recognized, due to its strong effect in bringing more single mothers into the labor force, striking new...
State Assistance for Poor Childless Adults Shrinking
State General Assistance programs, which provide a safety net of last resort for the very poor who don’t qualify for other public assistance, have weakened considerably in recent decades and are...
Breaking Down Barriers to Economic Opportunity
The lack of upward mobility for low- and middle-income children – a product of inequality and poverty – strikes at the heart of the American dream. But several evidence-based policies can boost...
Medicaid’s Long-Term Earnings and Health Benefits
Children eligible for Medicaid later earn more as adults and have fewer emergency-room visits and hospitalizations, two recent studies highlighted in this month’s National Bureau of Economic...
Safety Net More Effective Against Poverty Than Previously Thought
Previous analysis of Census data showed that safety net programs cut the poverty rate nearly in half. Recently released data from the Urban Institute reveal an even stronger...
WIC Works: Addressing the Nutrition and Health Needs of Low-Income Families for More Than Four Decades
Extensive research has found the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to be a cost-effective investment that improves the nutrition and health of low-income...
A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality
The years from the end of World War II into the 1970s were ones of substantial economic growth and broadly shared prosperity. Beginning in the 1970s, economic growth slowed and the income gap...