School of Social Work News

Professor Luke Shaefer was quoted in a New York Times article describing the short-term surge in federal per child spending during the pandemic. “In my career, I’ve never seen anything so dramatic as the shift in resources to families with kids during the pandemic,” said Shaefer “Now we have much more evidence that these types of provisions can really work, and almost all of it is going away.”

Luke Shaefer explains in Vox how federal government support during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted child poverty to fall sharply. “It was, indeed, a triumph of policy.”

Professor Luke Shaefer has received the 2021 U-M President’s Award for Public Impact. This award honors individuals whose research and expertise tangibly address a major public-sector challenge.

Shaefer is a leading scholar of contemporary American social welfare policy and the inaugural director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions. He is co-author of the acclaimed book, “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America,” which helped lay the groundwork for current anti-poverty legislative efforts, including President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

“It means a great deal to me to be at a university that has an award like this honoring public engagement. I think it really lifts up the importance of this kind of work,” Shaefer said. “I’m deeply honored to be a recipient because I greatly admire the scholars who have received it in the past.

Professor Luke Shaefer discusses the child tax credits with The New York Times, “Of 4 Family Policies in Democrats’ Bill, Which Deserves Priority?” Shaefer argued: “The child tax credit is elegant in that it does something for all low- and middle-income families.” “It does the most to empower families to do what they think is best for their families.”

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with the New York Times about how the stimulus checks issued during the pandemic brought an immediate reduction in food insecurity, which, he says, continues to fall. “We could potentially be at the lowest level of food insecurity ever recorded, because of the government transfers,” said Shaefer.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with the New York Times about how the new monthly child tax credit could increase economic stability for families. "When we load up so much of our aid in an annual big refund, it means so many of our families are going into the red by the end of the year," Professor Shaefer said. "We used to think about poverty in the United States as static - your income is below the poverty line - but people's lives are very volatile."

Luke Shaefer was quoted in the New York Times on his co-authored study showing that the last two rounds of stimulus checks substantially reduced hardship, especially among the poorest households and those with children. Shafer said “We see an immediate decline among multiple lines of hardship concentrated among the most disadvantaged families.”

Professor Luke Shaefer’s book “$2.00 a Day'' helped lay the groundwork for current antipovery legislative efforts, including President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.  A recent New York Times article describes how Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) arranged for all his Democratic Senate colleagues to receive a copy of the book.

Shaefer’s research was also cited in a New York Times article detailing how the availability of safety net programs have compounded the uncertainty and hardships faced by vulnerable populations during the pandemic — especially for those struggling with poverty and depression. “When the government acted, things got better — when the aid went away, things got worse,” he said.