Rebecca Y. Kim

Social and Economic Inequality and Asian Americans in the United States

ABSTRACT Describing social and economic inequality within the Asian American community is difficult. Depending on how “Asian American” is defined, there are twenty to thirty cultures, countries of origin, and a wide range of identities and circumstances that influence economic and social well-being. It is almost presumptuous to attempt to categorize such a diverse collection of identities as one group. At the same time, Asians and Pacific Islanders have been an increasing population group in the U.S. over the past thirty years. A common conception of them now is that of the “model minority”; i.e., as a minority group which has through hard work rather than political confrontation achieved the American Dream. Simple economic and educational comparisons suggest that Asian Americans have done quite well. Yet those comparisons are misleading. When controlling for educational status, Asian Americans have lower incomes than their White counterparts. Asian Americans, especially recent immigrants, also have higher poverty rates, whether for individuals, families, or children, than Whites. Overall, the impact of race continues to be significant for the well-being of this minority group, putting them at a disadvantage in American society.

The effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit on children's Income and poverty: Who fares better?

Abstract The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has emerged as a central program for low-income families with children since its incremental expansion was fully implemented by 1996. This study examined the contribution of the fully expanded EITC to the childrens economic well-being through two measures: (1) the effect on disposable income and (2) the effects on the poverty rate and the poverty gap. The study found that for all American children under age 18, the EITC provided little increase in disposable income (1.2%) but a modest reduction in child poverty (15%). For recipient families with children under age 18, the EITC had a greater impact: a 10% raise in disposable income and a 27% reduction in the poverty rate. Comparing the relative increase in disposable income for different groups of recipient families, the EITC particularly favored families of single mothers or young parents, welfare families, the extreme poor, and large families. However, these groups fared least well in terms of the EITCs relative effect on poverty. From these findings, the study concludes that the current EITC is insufficient in the fight against a high incidence of child poverty. To improve its anti-poverty effectiveness, several policy changes are proposed: (1) extension of the maximum credit to recipients in the phase-in range; (2) adoption of variable credit rates as a function of the number of children; and (3) creation of a new child grant for poor children who are currently ineligible for theEITC.

Estimating a Proposed Family Policy's Effects: Incorporating Labor Supply Responses to an Assured Child Support Benefit

Assured child support benefits are an important component of many proposals to reform the child support system. The authors estimate costs and the likely effects of assured benefits on poverty and welfare participation under two scenarios: with and without incorporating the labor supply changes of custodial parents. They find that in each situation assured benefits will reduce poverty rates and the poverty gap; welfare caseloads and expenditures will also fall. When parents are allowed to change the number of hours they work, the impact of assured benefits will be about the same, but the costs of the assured benefit program will increase.

The Increasing Income Inequality Among Children

Abstract As the proportion of the population of children decreases and the United States is increasingly exposed to global economic competition, childrens economic well-being will become a major public policy issue. This study investigated the changes in income inequality among children from 1969 to 1979, 1979 to 1989, and 1969 to 1989 and compared them with the changes among adults and elderly people during the same periods. The major findings were that (1) income inequality among children increased at a faster rate than among adult and elderly groups, whether it was measured at the pretransfer stage or the posttransfer stage, and (2) the increased income inequality among children was due, in part, to the declining effectiveness of public income transfers-especially social insurance benefits-in lessening income inequality among children.

The trend in the income status of children in female-headed families

Abstract This article presents a comparative study of the income status of children in female-headed families, married-couple families, and male-headed families in 1969, 1979, and 1989. The study found that from 1969 to 1989, children in female-headed families gained ground economically to children in marriedcouple families at the point of pretransfer income distribution, but it lost at the point of posttransfer income distribution. In comparison to children in maleheaded families, these children gained ground economically at both points of income distribution, but to a lesser degree at the point of posttransfer income distribution. The findings point to the conclusion that female heads of families increased economic capabilities during the past two decades—a manifestation of their greater work efforts. Policy implications are discussed.