Benefits Cliffs

Question A: “Benefits cliffs” caused by strict income requirements for public benefits create significant barriers to career advancement for low-income workers.

Question B: Benefit phase-outs like that included in the design for the earned income tax credit create fewer barriers to career advancement than strict income cutoffs.

Question C: The recent SNAP eligibility policy change by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will lower barriers to work for low-income people.

Question A: “Benefits cliffs” caused by strict income requirements for public benefits create significant barriers to career advancement for low-income workers.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Strongly Agree	8	Here is a great paper I recently read about this: https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/community-development/publications/discussion-papers/2023/01-a-case-study-mitigating-benefits-cliffs-in-the-district-of-columbia.pdf Figure 1 is mind blowing!
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Agree	8
Ron Cheung	Oberlin College	Strongly Agree	10
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Agree	8
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Agree	9
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	8	There are a lot of barriers to career advancement and this is one of them but a lack of education and skills plays a larger role.
Nancy Haskell	University of Dayton	Strongly Agree	9
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	8
Faria Huq	Lake Erie College	Agree	8
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Agree	8
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Agree	9
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Strongly Agree	9	People make an economically rational decision, at least in the short run, to turn down raises or promotions that result in loss of a much more significant public benefit.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Agree	8
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Agree	5
Curtis Reynolds	Kent State University	Agree	5	I am not sure if they are "significant" but they they clearly could be a problem for some people and therefore are just not a good idea. Slower phase-out is preferred (although it costs more money and is more complicated to administer).
Kay Strong	Independent	Agree	9
Iryna Topolyan	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Agree	9
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	7
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	7	I don't know that I would characterize it as "significant barriers", but losing SNAP benefits if income rises above 130% of the poverty line does have a real impact on low-wage workers.

Question B: Benefit phase-outs like that included in the design for the earned income tax credit create fewer barriers to career advancement than strict income cutoffs.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Agree	8	The implicit tax rate for people on
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Agree	8
Ron Cheung	Oberlin College	Strongly Agree	10
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Strongly Agree	10
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Uncertain	6
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	9	The EITC is better with a more gradual phase out but I think many recipients regard their benefit amounts as arbitrary and don’t respond as the designers might think.
Nancy Haskell	University of Dayton	Strongly Agree	9
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	8
Faria Huq	Lake Erie College	Agree	9
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Agree	8
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Agree	9
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Strongly Agree	9	Benefit slopes rather than cliffs will make the tradeoff between higher wages and lost benefits less severe, but it won't prevent it entirely.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	Agree	8
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Strongly Agree	8
Curtis Reynolds	Kent State University	Agree	8
Kay Strong	Independent	Agree	9
Iryna Topolyan	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Agree	9
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	7
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	8

Question C: The recent SNAP eligibility policy change by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will lower barriers to work for low-income people.

Economist	Institution	Opinion	Confidence	Comment
Jonathan Andreas	Bluffton University	Agree	8	Some states have already done this. I don't know if the additional efficiency gains of increasing work incentive will be worth the additional costs, but it will increase work incentives.
David Brasington	University of Cincinnati	Agree	7
Ron Cheung	Oberlin College	Uncertain	5
Kevin Egan	University of Toledo	Agree	10	Eliminating the "benefits cliff" is an efficient policy that reduces disincentives to work. Moreover, it is a fair policy change to gradually reduce SNAP benefits so no households find themselves in such an unfair position.
Kenneth Fah	Ohio Dominican University	Uncertain	5
Bob Gitter	Ohio Wesleyan University	Agree	8	The reduction of benefits with additional earnings will now be more gradual. That will make the net gain to work more positive.
Nancy Haskell	University of Dayton	Strongly Agree	9
Paul Holmes	Ashland University	Agree	7
Faria Huq	Lake Erie College	Agree	8
Michael Jones	University of Cincinnati	Uncertain	5
Charles Kroncke	Mount Saint Joseph University	Agree	8
Bill LaFayette	Regionomics	Strongly Agree	9	Creating a sliding scale to ease recipients off the benefit will make it easier to accept a pay increase.
Trevon Logan	Ohio State University	No Opinion	10
Joe Nowakowski	Muskingum University	Uncertain	6
Curtis Reynolds	Kent State University	Agree	7	This should lower some barriers. More importantly, however, it would likely help people retain some SNAP benefits. Good research has shown that sharp work requirements lead some people to enter the labor market but cause a larger decrease in SNAP participation (see Harris, Timothy F. "Do SNAP Work Requirements Work?")
Kay Strong	Independent	Uncertain	8	Barriers to work for low-income workers don't occur solely on the supply side of the market. Employers create barriers through their choice of workers, scheduling of workers, and willingness to assist employees over and around occasional personal obstacles that hinder workers.
Iryna Topolyan	University of Cincinnati	Strongly Agree	9
Ejindu Ume	Miami University	Agree	7
Kathryn Wilson	Kent State University	Agree	7