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The Theory Of Planned Behavior And The Earned Income Tax Credit, Lloyd Zimmerman, Anthony Canale, Sonya L. Britt, Martin Seay

Journal of Financial Therapy

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) seeks to reduce poverty and provide the resources necessary for an individual to become self-sufficient. The EITC achieves this annually by lifting millions of households above the poverty level through income supplementation. However, recent evidence suggests that the long-term upward economic mobility provided by the EITC in practice is limited. To investigate the factors associated with achieving this financial independence, this study utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior to determine if (a) attitudes—as measured by time preference and self-esteem, (b) subjective norms—as measured by education, parents’ poverty level or work status, and religiosity, and/or …