Publications by Author

Jennifer Romich

Research

Lundberg, S.; Romich, J.; Tsang, K. P., (Forthcoming), Independence Giving or Autonomy Taking? Childhood Predictors of Decision-Making Patterns Between Youth Adolescents and Parents, Journal of Research on Adolescence.

An abstract for this publication is not available.

Holt, S. D.; Romich, J. L., (2007), Marginal Tax Rates Facing Low- and Moderate-Income Workers Who Participate in Means-Tested Transfer Programs, National tax journal, 60(2), 253.

The combination of a progressive tax system with credits for low-income workers and means-tested transfer programs can create high marginal tax rates (MTRs) on earned income. We document the extent and distribution of statutory and actual MTRs for Wisconsin households with earned income in 2000 using a unique data set of merged tax, transfer program, and wage data. Nearly a quarter of unmarried tax filers with two or more dependents face MTRs of 50 percent or greater. Households between 100 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty threshold and those using multiple means-tested programs are more likely to face high rates.

Romich, J. L., (2007), Sharing the Work: Mother-Child Relationships and Household Management, Journal of Early Adolescence, 27(2), 192-222.

This manuscript reports on a study of how low-income employed single mothers and young adolescents manage household daily life. Analysis is based on longitudinal ethnographic data collected from families of 35 young adolescents over 3 years following the 1996 welfare reforms. Although mothers worked, young adolescents spent time unsupervised, performed household chores, and provided child care for younger siblings. Mother-youth relationships marked by mutual understanding acted as resources that enabled the families to successfully navigate daily life. Discussion focuses on how relationship quality moderates the impact of maternal employment and household work on young adolescent well-being. Implications for further research on children's household work are considered.

Romich, Jennifer L. (2006). Difficult calculations: Low-income workers and marginal tax rates. Social Service Review, 80(1), 27-66.

Means-tested benefits and progressive tax measures are intended to support low-income working families, but they often create high effective marginal tax rates (MTRs). Low-wage workers who increase the number of hours at work or accept raises may find that increased earnings are partially, fully, or more than offset by decreased benefits or increased tax liability. Using longitudinal ethnographic data from 40 families, this study shows how families learn about, view, and respond to high implicit rates of taxation. Contrary to the rhetoric of welfare reform, high MTRs diminish families' opportunities for upward mobility and control over their lives through work.

Romich, Jennifer L. (2006). Randomized social policy experiments and research on child development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 136-150.

Randomized social policy experiments (SPEs) are an important methodology for investigating topics in child development. This article provides a framework for understanding how evidence from SPEs can add to knowledge about child development. The use of SPEs for child development questions to date is summarized and lessons from the applied economics and policy studies literature on the advantages and limitations of experimental data are reviewed. Four principles from the developmental psychology literature are presented with implications for the interpretation of experimental data. A framework for applying SPE evidence on child development must consider that development depends on proximal causes, that development is nonlinear, that processes vary across and within populations and that change has a developmental cost. Design considerations and trade-offs between ideal design and other stakeholder goals are discussed.

Romich, Jennifer L. & Jennifer Simmelink. (2005). Piecing it all together (teaching case). In H. B. Weiss, H. Kreider, M. E. Lopez and C. Chatman (Eds.), Preparing Educators for Family Involvement: From theory to practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

An abstract for this article is not available.