• BA, Economics, Wellesley College
• PhD, Economics, Cornell University

Applications of Behavioral Economic Insights to Poverty and Early Childhood Interventions

Today, policymakers and researchers are faced with a few seemingly intractable dilemmas: Why do income-poor individuals not take up programs and offerings that they are eligible for, such as health insurance, food stamps, childcare subsidies, and housing subsidies? Why are these policy stepping stones modestly successful and not more successful? Why are so many “marginally poor” unable to climb permanently out of poverty? I aim to re-conceptualize poverty — commonly characterized by financial struggle — as circumstances that create unique challenges for the human psyche, above and beyond budget woes. By focusing research on the roles of decision-making, will power, and attention (falling under the umbrella of the field of behavioral economics), this work proposes alternative reasons to explain why the income-poor seem to engage in what most theories may label as irrational behavior. The behavioral view does not propose wholesale solutions or panaceas but provides a framework for particularly examining issues related to take-up, engagement and follow-through that continue to permeate most programs, including in early childhood intervention. Through the framework of the context of decision-making, and the role of cognitive resources such as attention and self-control, these insights illuminate alternative hypotheses as to why the income-poor seem to engage in what most theories may label as irrational behavior. As such, this framework generates new approaches to re-design programs and has enormous potential influence for on the ground program and policy practice.

• Gennetian, L. and E. Shafir (2015). The Persistence of Poverty in the Context of Financial Instability: A Behavioral Perspective. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(4): 904-36.

This line of research includes applications of behaviorally informed approaches to support parent engagement, and subsequent impact of, early childhood interventions: beELL seeks to cultivate scholarly evidence, and develop a toolkit of best practices, to enhance our understanding and optimize the impact of parent-targeted early childhood interventions by harnessing the insights of behavioral economics. beELL officially launched in 2015 and currently has three projects based in New York City: beELL-Getting Ready for School, a preK play based curriculum; beELL-NYC, a collaboration with New York City’s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene’s Newborn Home Visiting Program; and, beELL-ParentCorps, a preK parenting support program.

• Gennetian, L.A., M. Marti, J.L. Kennedy, J.H. Kim, and H. Duch (2019). Supporting parent engagement in a school readiness program: Experimental evidence applying insights from behavioral economics. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 62: 1-10.
• Gennetian, L., M. Darling, & L. Aber (2015). Behavioral Economics and Developmental Theory: Implications for Early Childhood Interventions

Poverty Reduction and Children’s Early Brain Development

This study is a collaboration of social scientists (co-PIs Greg Duncan, University of California at Irvine, Katherine Magnuson, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Hiro Yoshikawa, New York University) and neuroscientists (co-PI Kimberly Noble, Columbia University) and the first of its kind to design and test, as a randomized control study, the effects of a large unconditional cash gift to 1,000 eligible low income mothers at the birth of their child across 4 large U.S. metropolitan areas for each of the first three years of their child’s life. The proposed annual cash payment mimics the value of a diversity of existing federal and state supported safety net programs, most notably the Earned Income Tax Credit and, thus the study’s findings are not only designed to scientifically and cleanly answer open questions about the causal impact of income on early childhood brain development, but will also speak to the role of public policy to strategically target income support. The full study launched in spring 2018.

Hear more about the study and design on NPR's The Indicator: Money for Moms.

The Economic Circumstances of Hispanic Children in the U.S.

Outside of indicators of overall economic or poverty status, very little is understood about the economic circumstances and dynamics of income among the growing population of income poor Hispanic children. Whereas Hispanic families have less in savings and fewer economic assets and more employment uncertainty that may put them at particular risk of unfavorable impacts from negative income shocks, they also have higher marital stability and family cohesion that can help buffer negative ramifications of income instability. I investigate these issues as the director of research in the Poverty and Economic Self-Sufficiency area of the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families and Children. Using national data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation I find that Hispanic children were more likely to live in poor households than their non-Hispanic peers, but that they also resided in less income volatile households than non-Hispanic children, even during the period of the Great Recession. I am now investigated ways in which time spent with children might vary by race/ethnicity and income using data from the American Time Use Survey.

• Gennetian, L.A., C. Rodrigues, H.D. Hill, and P.A. Morris (2018). Income level and volatility by children’s race and Hispanic ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and Family 81(1): 204-29.
• Gennetian, LA, Hill HD, Morris PA, Rodrigues, C. Income instability in the lives of children in Hispanic households. 2015.  National Center for Research on Hispanic Children and Families.  Washington, DC:  Child Trends.
• Gennetian, LA., Hill HD, Morris PA, Rodrigues, C. Low and unstable income: Comparing incidence in Hispanic child households before and after the Great Recession. 2015.  National Center for Research on Hispanic Children and Families.  Washington, DC:  Child Trends.
• Alvira-Hammond, M. Gennetian LA.  Hispanic Parents and Public Assistance:  Perceptions of Need and Eligibility.  2015. National Center for Research on Hispanic Children and Families.  Washington, DC:  Child Trends.
• Gennetian, L.A., C. Rodrigues, H. Hill and P. Morris (2018). Income Level and Volatility by Children’s Race and Hispanic Ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and Family.

Household Income volatility: Experiences and Implications for Children

Much of what is understood about the influence of poverty and income on children's development conceptualizes income as a static condition. My work looks deeply at the role of income instability, or income change, in the lives of children and their families, particularly among those households who are living in or near poverty. Conceptually, this work blends disciplinary frameworks from economics, human development, and psychology, and as such, considers frequency, magnitude and direction of income change. Estimates suggest that differences in monthly income instability between the highest and lowest income households with children have increased nearly five-fold from 1984 to 2010, with the lowest income households becoming more income unstable. Findings further suggest that unstable income can have particularly unfavorable influences on adolescent school suspensions or expulsions.

• Hill H, Morris P, Gennetian LA, Wolf S, Tubbs C. On the consequences of income instability for children's well-being. Child Development Perspectives. 2013; 7(2):85-90.
• Wolf S, Gennetian L, Morris P, Hill H. Patterns of income dynamics among low income families with children. Family Relations. 2014; 63(3).
• Gennetian L, Wolf S, Morris P, Hill H. Intrayear household income dynamics and adolescent school behavior. Demography. 2015; 52(2):455-83.
• Gennetian, L.A., C.R. Rodrigues, H.D. Hill and P.A. Morris (2018). Stability of income and school attendance among NYC students of low income families. Economics of Education Review. 63: 20-30.

• Heising Simons Foundation. Co-Principal Investigator with Helena Duch and Kimberly Noble, Columbia University. Getting Ready for School: Applications of Behavioral Insights.
• The Bezos Foundation. Co-Principal Investigator with J. Lawrence Aber, New York University. Behavioral Economic Strategies to Enhance Parent Language Interaction with their 0‐3 Year olds: A Partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
• Office of Planning Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Co-PI, Poverty and Economic Self-Sufficiency; Lina Guzman, Child Trends, and Michael Lopez, Abt Associates, as Directors. National Center for Research on Hispanic Families and Households. Illuminate, Inform, Inspire: Building upon ACF’s strengths to support Hispanic children and families.
• William T Grant Foundation. Co-Principal Investigators with Heather Hill, University of Washington and Pamela Morris, New York University. Income Instability, Family Processes and Youth Development

• Gennetian, L., R. Seshadri, N. Hess, A. Winn, and R. Goerge (2016). SNAP Benefit Cycles and School Disciplinary Infractions. Social Services Review. News coverage on April 5, 2012 on The Takeaway and BBC radio.
• Gennetian, L. and E. Shafir (2015). The Persistence of Poverty in the Context of Financial Instability: A Behavioral Perspective. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(4): 904-36.
• Gennetian, L., S. Wolf, P. Morris and H. Hill (2015). Intra-year Household Income Dynamics and Adolescent School Behavior. Demography 52(2): 455-83.
• Gennetian, L., J. Ludwig, L. Sanbonmatsu and T. McDade (2013). Why Concentrated Poverty Matters. Pathways Magazine. Spring Issue. Stanford University: Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.
• Crosby, D., C. Dowsett, L. Gennetian, and A. Huston (2010). The Effects of Center-Based Care on the Problem Behavior of Low-Income Children with Working Mothers. Developmental Psychology. 46(5): 1030-48.
• Gennetian, L. A., N. Castells, and P. Morris (2010) Meeting the Basic Needs of Children: Does Income Matter? National Poverty Center Working Paper No. 2009-11. Gennetian, L.A., T. Leventhal and S. Newman (eds) special issue of Children and Youth Services Review 32(9): 1138-48

• Insights from Behavioral Economics Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Parent Behavior. IZA World of Labor Conference, Berlin, Germany, June 29, 2018.
• Behavioral Insights and Early Childhood Interventions. The Human Safety Net Summit, Venice, Italy, May 15-16, 2018.
• A Behavioral Perspective on Enriching Two-Generation Program Approaches. Disrupting the Cycle of Poverty: Two-Generation Approaches from Research, Practice, and Policy Inaugural Event, Cornell University, October 23, 2017.
• Behavioral science and public policy, invited program. Society for Research on Child Development biennial meetings, April 2017. Insights and tools from behavioral economics: Applications for child care consumer outreach and education. Webinar hosted by Child Care Aware, September 20, 2016.
• Shaking assumptions and uncovering new solutions: A behavioral perspective on poverty and early childhood interventions. Human Development and Social Policy. Northwestern University. April 26, 2016.
• Income Instability Data Training Webinar. Sponsored by the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families and Children. February 2, 2016.
• Income Volatility in the U.S.: Economic Disparities Between Rich and Poor Families with a Special Focus on Hispanics. Columbia University Population Research Center. November 10, 2015.
• Early Care and Education Availability and Access: What we can learn from the National Survey of Early Care and Education. Webinar hosted by the Child Care Research and Policy Partnership. November 5, 2015.
• The Economic Lives of Hispanic Children Pre and Post The Great Recession. Institute for Research on Poverty University of Wisconsin. October 1, 2015. Resulting podcast.
• Evidence for Investing in Parenting Programs. Presentation to Institute of Medicine, National Research Council Committee on Supporting the Parents of Young Children. September 17, 2015.
• Behavioral Economics and Early Childhood Interventions. Institute for Child Success and Riley Institute, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina. March 3, 2015.

• PHDSW-GS 3027- 001 Quantitative Methods: This course reviews the principles of quantitative research methods with the aim of providing a foundation of skills to assess appropriate empirical methodologies and design empirical research studies. The course will cover: • Formulation of research questions and appropriate empirical research methodologies• Assumptions and biases underlying methodologies • Sampling strategies and measurement• Quantitative/survey based observational studies• Experimental and quasi-experimental designs• Research ethics and principles of integrity and open science
• The course also guides students on how to review and critique empirical research articles and conduct literature reviews of empirical research.

• Faculty affiliations
• Affiliated Professor, Abdul Lateef Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America, 2018-present
• Faculty Affiliate, Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, 2015-present
• Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin. 2014-present
• Research Affiliate, National Poverty Center, University of Michigan, 2004-2007
• Advisory service
• Consultant, Sesame Street Workshop, U.S. community initiatives, 2019-present
• Advisory Board, Aporta, Initiative to Support Early Childhood, Peru, 2018-present
• Advisory Board, Assessing the Efficacy and Implementation of City Connects: A Systemic Approach to Student Support, Boston College, 2018-present
• Advisory Board, The Ounce of Prevention Fund, 2018-present
• Editorial Advisory Group, Child and Family Blog, a joint venture of The Future of Children (Brookings/Princeton), University of Cambridge, and the Jacobs Foundation, 2016-present