Data and Code for: What Is the Value of the Child and Dependent Care Credit?

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Gabrielle Pepin, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  code 02/24/2025 08:41:PM
  data 02/24/2025 08:42:PM
  gph 02/24/2025 08:41:PM
  log 02/24/2025 08:41:PM
  tables 02/24/2025 08:41:PM
  tmpdta 02/24/2025 08:41:PM
README.pdf application/pdf 117.3 KB 02/24/2025 03:41:PM

Project Citation: 

Pepin, Gabrielle. Data and Code for: What Is the Value of the Child and Dependent Care Credit? Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2025. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-04-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/E215081V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary The Child and Dependent Car Credit (CDCC) subsidizes child care costs for working families. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 increased the CDCC’s generosity during 2021 only. I find that while the CDCC is of relatively little value in its current form, increases in eligibility rates and conditional benefits under the pandemic expansion increased the credit’s value dramatically. Conditional on CDCC eligibility, higher-income households experienced the largest increases in benefit levels under the expanded CDCC, but lower-income households benefited disproportionately when measuring benefits as a share of income or child care spending.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms child care; eligibility; benefits
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
      J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2009 – 2023
Universe:  View help for Universe Households with children younger than six years old
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) program source code; survey data

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source 2010–2024 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements
Weights:  View help for Weights Household weights

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Published Versions

V1 [2025-04-04]

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