@article {2415, title = {How Should We Define Low-Wage Work? An Analysis Using the Current Population Survey}, journal = {Monthly Labor Review}, year = {2016}, month = {October}, abstract = {Low-wage work is a central concept in considerable research, yet it lacks an agreed-upon definition. Using data from the Current Population Survey{\textquoteright}s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, the analysis presented in this article suggests that defining low-wage work on the basis of alternative hourly wage cutoffs changes the size of the low-wage population, but does not noticeably alter time trends in the rate of change. The analysis also indicates that different definitions capture groups of workers with substantively different demographic, social, and economic characteristics. Although the individuals in any of the categories examined might reasonably be considered low-wage workers, a single definition obscures these distinctions.}, url = {http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/pdf/how-should-we-define-low-wage-work.pdf}, author = {Fusaro, V. and Shaefer, H. Luke} } @techreport {handle:1813:40169, title = {Introduction to The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)}, number = {1813:40169}, year = {2015}, institution = {University of Michigan}, type = {Preprint}, abstract = {Introduction to The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Shaefer, H. Luke Goals for the SIPP Workshop Provide you with an introduction to the SIPP and get you up and running on the public-use SIPP files, offer some advanced tools for 2008 Panel SIPP data analysis, Get you some experience analyzing SIPP data, Introduce you to the SIPP EHC (SIPP Redesign), Introduce you to the SIPP Synthetic Beta (SSB) Presentation made on May 15, 2015 at the Census Bureau, and previously in 2014 at Duke University and University of Michigan}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/1813/40169}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke} } @article {2419, title = {Understanding the Dynamics of $2-a-Day Poverty in the United States}, journal = {The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences}, volume = {1}, year = {2015}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke and Edin, Kathryn and Talbert, E.} } @article {Shaefer2013, title = {Do single mothers in the United States use the Earned Income Tax Credit to reduce unsecured debt?}, journal = {Review of Economics of the Household}, number = {11}, year = {2013}, note = {NCRN}, pages = {659{\textendash}680}, type = {Journal Article}, abstract = {

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable credit for low income workers mainly targeted at families with children. This study uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation{\textquoteright}s topical modules on Assets and Liabilities to examine associations between the EITC expansions during the early 1990s and the unsecured debt of the households of single mothers. We use two difference-in-differences comparisons over the study period 1988{\textendash}1999, first comparing single mothers to single childless women, and then comparing single mothers with two or more children to single mothers with exactly one child. In both cases we find that the EITC expansions are associated with a relative decline in the unsecured debt of affected households of single mothers. While not direct evidence of a causal relationship, this is suggestive evidence that single mothers may have used part of their EITC to limit the growth of their unsecured debt during this period.

}, keywords = {Earned Income Tax Credit Single Mothers Unsecured Debt}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke and Song, Xiaoqing and Williams Shanks, Trina R.} } @booklet {Shaefer2012, title = {Extreme Poverty in the United States, 1996 to 2011}, year = {2012}, note = {NCRN}, month = {February 2012}, publisher = {University of Michigan}, type = {Report}, url = {http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief28/policybrief28.pdf}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke and Edin, Kathryn} } @article {ShaeferYbarra2012, title = {The welfare reforms of the 1990s and the stratification of material well-being among low-income households with children}, journal = {Children and Youth Services Review}, volume = {34}, number = {8}, year = {2012}, note = {NCRN}, pages = {1810-1817}, type = {Journal Article}, abstract = {

We examine the incidence of material hardship experienced by low-income households with children, before and after the major changes to U.S. anti-poverty programs during the 1990s. We use the Survey of Income and ProgramParticipation (SIPP) to examine a series of measures of householdmaterial hardship thatwere collected in the years 1992, 1995, 1998, 2003 and 2005.We stratify our sample to differentiate between the 1) deeply poor (b50\% of poverty), who sawa decline in public assistance over this period; and two groups that sawsome forms of public assistance increase: 2) other poor households (50{\textendash}99\% of poverty), and 3) the near poor (100{\textendash}150\% of poverty). We report bivariate trends over the study period, as well as presenting multivariate difference-indifferences estimates.We find suggestive evidence that material hardship{\textemdash}in the form of difficulty meeting essential household expenses, and falling behind on utilities costs{\textemdash}has generally increased among the deeply poor but has remained roughly the same for the middle group (50{\textendash}99\% of poverty), and decreased among the near poor (100{\textendash}150\% of poverty). Multivariate difference-in-differences estimates suggest that these trends have resulted in intensified stratification of the material well-being of low-income households with children.

}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke and Ybarra, Marci} } @techreport {handle:1813:34516, title = {Do Single Mothers in the United States use the Earned Income Tax Credit to Reduce Unsecured Debt?}, number = {1813:34516}, year = {2011}, institution = {University of Michigan}, type = {Preprint}, abstract = {Do Single Mothers in the United States use the Earned Income Tax Credit to Reduce Unsecured Debt? Shaefer, H. Luke; Song, Xiaoqing; Williams Shanks, Trina R. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable credit for low-income workers that is mainly targeted at families with children. This study uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation{\textquoteright}s (SIPP) topical modules on Assets \& Liabilities to examine the effects of EITC expansions during the early 1990s on the unsecured debt of the households of single mothers. We use two difference-in-differences comparisons over the study period 1988 to 1999, first comparing single mothers to single childless women, and then comparing single mothers with two or more children to single mothers with exactly one child. In both cases we find that the EITC expansions are associated with a relative decline in the unsecured debt of affected households of single mothers. This suggests that single mothers may have used part of their EITC to limit the growth of their unsecured debt during this period.}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34516}, author = {Shaefer, H. Luke and Song, Xiaoqing and Williams Shanks, Trina R.} }