abstract: 'Families who live in poverty face disadvantages that can hinder their

  children''s development in many ways, write Greg Duncan, Katherine

  Magnuson, and Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal. As they struggle to get by

  economically, and as they cope with substandard housing, unsafe

  neighborhoods, and inadequate schools, poor families experience more

  stress in their daily lives than more affluent families do, with a host

  of psychological and developmental consequences. Poor families also lack

  the resources to invest in things like high-quality child care and

  enriched learning experiences that give more affluent children a leg up.

  Often, poor parents also lack the time that wealthier parents have to

  invest in their children, because poor parents are more likely to be

  raising children alone or to work nonstandard hours and have inflexible

  work schedules.

  Can increasing poor parents'' incomes, independent of any other sort of

  assistance, help their children succeed in school and in life? The

  theoretical case is strong, and Duncan, Magnuson, and Votruba-Drzal find

  solid evidence that the answer is yes children from poor families that

  see a boost in income do better in school and complete more years of

  schooling, for example. But if boosting poor parents'' incomes can help

  their children, a crucial question remains: Does it matter when in a

  child''s life the additional income appears? Developmental neurobiology

  strongly suggests that increased income should have the greatest effect

  during children''s early years, when their brains and other systems are

  developing rapidly, though we need more evidence to prove this

  conclusively.

  The authors offer examples of how policy makers could incorporate the

  findings they present to create more effective programs for families

  living in poverty. And they conclude with a warning: if a boost in

  income can help poor children, then a drop in income for example,

  through cuts to social safety net programs like food stamps can surely

  harm them.'
affiliation: 'Duncan, GJ (Corresponding Author), Univ Calif Irvine, Sch Educ, Irvine,
  CA 92717 USA.

  Duncan, Greg J., Univ Calif Irvine, Sch Educ, Irvine, CA 92717 USA.

  Magnuson, Katherine, Univ Wisconsin, Sch Social Work, Madison, WI 53706 USA.

  Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth, Univ Pittsburgh, Dept Psychol, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA.'
author: Duncan, Greg J. and Magnuson, Katherine and Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth
author_list:
- family: Duncan
  given: Greg J.
- family: Magnuson
  given: Katherine
- family: Votruba-Drzal
  given: Elizabeth
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1353/foc.2014.0008
eissn: 1550-1558
files: []
issn: 1054-8289
journal: FUTURE OF CHILDREN
keywords-plus: 'SOCIOECONOMIC-STATUS; SCHOOL PERFORMANCE; WELFARE-REFORM; HEALTH;

  POVERTY; STRESS; IMPACT; TAX; ACHIEVEMENT; DISPARITIES'
language: English
month: SPR
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '74'
pages: 99-120
papis_id: 781210b25eb7180f71c20323002d9abe
ref: Duncan2014boostingfamily
times-cited: '131'
title: Boosting Family Income to Promote Child Development
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000334819000006
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '71'
volume: '24'
web-of-science-categories: 'Family Studies; Health Policy \& Services; Social Sciences,

  Interdisciplinary'
year: '2014'