Economic Mobility Behaviors Due to Earned Income Tax Credit Policy: a Case Study of a Southern California Population
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2013 Economic mobility behaviors due to earned income tax credit policy: a case study of a southern California population Eugene J. Anton Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Anton, Eugene J., "Economic mobility behaviors due to earned income tax credit policy: a case study of a southern California population" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 415. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/415 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. i Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology ECONOMIC MOBILITY BEHAVIORS DUE TO EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT POLICY: A CASE STUDY OF A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA POPULATION A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership by Eugene J. Anton November, 2013 Kent Rhodes, Ed.D. – Dissertation Chairperson ii This dissertation, written by Eugene J. Anton under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Doctoral Committee: Kent Rhodes, Ed.D., Chairperson Leo Mallette, Ed.D. James Dellaneve, Ed.D. iii © Copyright by Eugene J. Anton (2013) All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii VITA .............................................................................................................................................. ix ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 2 Relevance .................................................................................................................................... 3 Problem statement ....................................................................................................................... 5 Purpose of the study .................................................................................................................... 6 Research questions ...................................................................................................................... 7 Significance of this study .......................................................................................................... 10 Conceptual approach ................................................................................................................. 12 Study limitations ....................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter summary ...................................................................................................................... 14 Organization of remainder of study .......................................................................................... 14 Definition of terms .................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 19 Prelude to the EITC .................................................................................................................. 20 EITC .......................................................................................................................................... 76 Program assessment and implementation ............................................................................... 109 Theoretical framework for policy formation .......................................................................... 135 Chapter 3: Data and Methodology .............................................................................................. 170 Design of study ....................................................................................................................... 170 Research questions .................................................................................................................. 170 Research background and methodology ................................................................................. 171 EITC federal expenditure data ................................................................................................ 179 Human subject considerations ................................................................................................ 186 Statistical treatment of data ..................................................................................................... 187 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 188 v Page Chapter 4: Results ....................................................................................................................... 189 Research question 1 ................................................................................................................ 189 Research question 2 ................................................................................................................ 197 Isolating EITC expenditure punctuations ............................................................................... 209 Research question 3 ................................................................................................................ 212 Research question 4 ................................................................................................................ 214 Research question 5 ................................................................................................................ 217 Chapter 5: Summary and Discussion .......................................................................................... 220 Statement of the problem ........................................................................................................ 220 Review methodology .............................................................................................................. 221 Summary of the results ........................................................................................................... 222 Discussion of the results ─ Research question 1 .................................................................... 222 Discussion of the results ─ Research question 2 .................................................................... 223 Discussion of the results ─ Research question 3, 4, and 5 ..................................................... 226 Conclusion and recommendations .......................................................................................... 228 Further research ...................................................................................................................... 235 Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 244 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 246 APPENDIX A: I-CAN! EITC Survey ...................................................................................... 283 APPENDIX B: Institutional Review Board Approval Letter ................................................... 288 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 Tax Threshold ................................................................. 45 Table 2. Illustrative Performance Measures for EITC Program Assessment ............................ 132 Table 3. Basis for Calculating NTU Score: 1979-2008. ............................................................ 182 Table 4. House Committee Party Ratios: 94th-110th Congress (1975-2009) ............................. 184 Table 5. Senate Committee Party Ratios: 94th-110th Congress (1975-2009) ............................. 185 Table 6. Respondents Economic Mobility Indicators ................................................................ 191 Table 7. Separate from the EITC, Respondents Saving Habits ................................................. 193 Table 8. If Respondent Saved, Planned Use for Savings ........................................................... 194 Table 9. Most Important Use of Anticipated EITC Refund....................................................... 195 Table 10. Past EITC Refund Use ...............................................................................................