How Much Does Amnesty Strengthen the Safety Net? Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
نویسندگان
چکیده
We explore how immigrant legal status affects safety net transfers using variation from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which authorized the largest U.S. amnesty to date. Exploiting the timing and geographic unevenness in intensity of IRCA’s legalization programs, we estimate a sizable effect of permanent residency on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) transfers. By contrast, we find null but imprecise effects of legal status on food stamp transfers. Fiscal costs are partially offset by increased state income tax revenues due to increased rates of income tax filing. These findings suggest that previous studies have understated the relationship between legal status and total family resources, particularly for families with children, and that legalization redistributes resources toward areas more affected by immigration. JEL codes: J61, H24, H53, H71
منابع مشابه
PRELIMINARY How Much Does Amnesty Stretch the Safety Net? Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
This paper estimates the effect of immigrant legal status on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and food stamp transfers using variation from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which authorized the largest U.S. amnesty to date. Our empirical approach exploits both the timing of IRCA and the geographic unevenness of applications for legal status under the law. We find that areas...
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