Earned income tax credit policies : Impact and optimality

In this lecture I consider the impact and optimality of Earned IncomeTax Policies. The policy issue addressed is the low labour market attachment and high incidence of poverty among certain groups. These policies have taken a central position in EU labour market policy debate and I focus on reforms over the last decade in the UK. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ‘No society can surely be flourishing and happy in which part of the members are poor and ⁎ De E-m 1 Alt the des labour Howev infancy 0927-5 doi:10. miserable. Thus far at least seems certain, that, in order to bring up a family, the labour of the parent must be able to earn something more than what is precisely necessary. Indeed poverty, though it does not prevent the generation, is extremely unfavourable to the rearing of children.’ Adam Smith: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.