Gabrielle Pepin

What Is the Value of the Child and Dependent Care Credit? (May 2025) - The Child and Dependent Care 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'...

Very excited to see my research in the AEA Papers & Proceedings! Bottom line: Currently, the Child and Dependent Care Credit provides little value to families, but a temporary expansion during the Covid-19 pandemic made it much more effective at mitigating out-of-pocket care costs.

With simple changes, tax credit for care could help working families thrive A conversation with expert Gabrielle Pepin

The Child and Dependent Care Credit isn’t generous enough to move the needle on care costs for a lot of families, but changes to it, like the ones made under ARPA, would make it much more effective in mitigating families’ out-of-pocket costs, our @gabriellepepin.bsky.social says. #childcare

Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s ECRA awards! They came from a slate of great proposals. 🎉🥳

Chart showing effect of $100 increase in CDCC on employment rate and child care participation.

Research from our @gabriellepepin.bsky.social published in @ilrreview.bsky.social shows how an increase in Child and Dependent Care Credit generosity increases paid child care participation for mothers.
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...

Tax Credits Can Increase Child Care Usage and Enable More Mothers to Work

Tax credits can increase child care usage and enable more mothers to work, writes @gabriellepepin.bsky.social @upjohninstitute.bsky.social.

Excited to see my work with Josep Nadal-Fernandez and Kane Schrader in @jpam-dc.bsky.social! Upcoming policy changes intended to strengthen states’ TANF work requirements will have heterogenous effects across states, and several compliance strategies don’t actually encourage work.👇

Do you work on topics related to employment and labor relations? Submit an individual paper or panel to LERA@ASSA 2026! LERA will be sponsoring a number of sessions, and they usually are well-attended. Submission deadline 3/15. #EconSky #EconConf

Strengthening work requirements? Forecasting impacts of reforming cash assistance rules Work requirements are perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, America's sole federal cash assistance program for low-income families with ...

And even placing work requirements on states doesn’t necessarily encourage work

Thanks, @riacton.bsky.social! Happy to bring treats when the postdoc travels to the Institute to work with the project team in person 😊

Hiring 2-year postdoc @upjohninstitute.bsky.social.

Great for someone with FSRDC experience & interest in early childhood care & education labor markets.

Work with me @gabriellepepin.bsky.social @jborowsky.bsky.social + others.
#econ_ra #econsky #policysky

www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....

A few days left to apply for the 2025 Dissertation Research Grants supported by @russellsagefdn.bsky.social and @upjohninstitute.bsky.social. PhD candidates studying employment-related topics, especially policy-relevant issues related to BIPOC communities, should apply 👇

I had the pleasure of presenting in a great CSWEP session at this year’s ASSA Meetings. Those working on these topics should submit! 👇

How about some happy news!

Flint, MI's Rx Kids program celebrates its one anniversary this week, matching the year of universal $500 monthly payments new parents receive after $1,500 during pregnancy.

How can policymakers build on the successes of this program? Let's explore...(1/8)

Congrats on a great piece, Katie!

Very excited about the publication of this report! We describe how proposed changes to the CTC, EITC, Child and Dependent Care Credit, and other tax policies would affect families’ income, labor supply, and other measures of well-being.

Welfare changes could set states out of federal compliance: ASSA research focus Changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program could leave five states that provide cash assistance to about 50,000 families out of compliance with federal requirements, new research…

Several strategies states use to meet welfare work requirements amount to “creative accounting.” A look at the program and coming changes from @gabriellepepin.bsky.social and coauthors. #ASSA2025 https://buff.ly/4fvs0oQ

Research being presented by our Alfonso Flores-Lagunes at the #ASSA2025 conference finds that a public university system pays faculty 7 percent below what they would earn in a competitive market.

I’ll be presenting work with Josep Nadal-Fernandez and Kane Schrader on new changes to states’ TANF work requirements at #ASSA2025. Takeaway: 5 states will begin to fall short of requirements, but many compliance strategies available to them don’t actually encourage work. tinyurl.com/bdzkwkf2

I discuss why other proposed tax changes (e.g., increasing the dependent care FSA contribution limit, expanding the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit) wouldn’t make much of a dent into families’ child care costs.

The proposed legislation also would allow low-income families to receive a tax refund. My research shows that this would extend benefits to 5% of single parents who already are working and paying for child care but have incomes too low to benefit from a nonrefundable tax credit. tinyurl.com/yfn6brur

Want to Offset Inflation for Working Families? Update the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Pepin: Doubling the tax credit could bring immediate relief to parents, offset recent price increases, and boost mothers’ employment rates.

I write in @the74.bsky.social that the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would increase the value of the child care tax credit and more than offset post-pandemic price increases. #EconSky👇

New feed just dropped.

Econ conference feed displays posts with #EconConf or #AEA, #2025AEA, #AEA2025, #AEA25 & similar for APPAM, ASHE, LERA, SEA, & SOLE. Displays posts from last 7 days.

Better than different feeds for each conference, each active just 1 week a year?
bsky.app/profile/aaro...

I’ve made a Women in Econ starter pack (s/o @vinisingh.bsky.social for sparking the idea!). Share, follow, and comment below if you’d like to be added! go.bsky.app/LqBPkQZ

Congrats to Upjohn’s Dissertation Award winners! 🎉🥳 See more about their excellent work below👇

The Upjohn Institute is hiring a Researcher/Senior Researcher. PhDs in economics, public policy, sociology, political science, industrial relations, and related fields studying employment-related issues are welcome to apply. It’s a great place to work! Feel free to contact me for more info #EconSky

Those Colleges With “State” in Their Name  | Washington Monthly New research shows that regional universities deliver the greatest return for our tax dollars. So of course we starve them of funds.

Research from our Brad Hershbein showing there's a high return on investing in regional public universities for states that want to keep to their college graduates in state. #EconSky #EduSky

What Kalamazoo (Yes, Kalamazoo) Reveals About the Nation’s Housing Crisis A decade ago, the city — and all of Michigan — had too many houses. Now it has a shortage. The shift there explains today’s costly housing market in the rest of the country.

It's official: Kalamazoo is America.

60% OFF Overtime: America's Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer America is at a crossroads in its approach to work and retirement. Many policymakers think it's logical-almost inevitable-that Americans will delay retirement and spend more years in the paid labor fo...

Just in time for a little light Labor Day listening about work, aging, and retirement.

www.audiobooks.co.uk/promotions/p...

These changes would increase credit access and generosity and better target eligibility requirements and incentives to caregivers for older adults.

I propose 1) making the credit refundable, 2) increasing its generosity, and 3) creating separate credits with different eligibility requirements for child and adult qualifying individuals.