Research

Selected Publications

Ziliak, James P., Charles Hokayem, and Christopher R. Bollinger. 2023. “Trends in Earnings Volatility using Linked Administrative and Survey Data,” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 41(1):  12-19.

Jones, Margaret, and James P. Ziliak. 2022. “The Antipoverty Impact of the EITC: New Estimates from Survey and Administrative Tax Records.” National Tax Journal  75(3): 451-479

Hartley, Robert Paul, Carlos Lamarche, and James P. Ziliak. 2022. “Welfare Reform and the Intergenerational Transmission of Dependence,” Journal of Political Economy  103(3): 523-565.

Hardy, Bradley, Charles Hokayem, and James P. Ziliak. 2022. "Income Inequality, Race, and the EITC," National Tax Journal  75(1): 149-167.

Ziliak, James P. 2021. “Recent Trends in the Material Well Being of the Working Class in America,” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Jennifer Romich, Timothy Smeeding, and Michael Strain (Eds.), 695(1): 70-91. 

Ziliak, James P. 2021. “Food Hardship during the Covid-19 Pandemic and Great Recession,” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(1): 132-152. doi:10.1002/aepp.13099.

Moffitt, Robert, and James P. Ziliak. 2020. “Covid-19 and the U.S. Safety Net,” Fiscal Studies, 41(3): 515-548. Cross listed as NBER Working Paper 27911.

Tiehen, Laura, Cody Vaughn, and James P. Ziliak. 2020. “Food Insecurity in the PSID: A Comparison with the Levels, Trends, and Determinants in the CPS 1999-2017,” Journal of Economic and Social Measurement 45(2): 103-138.

Bollinger, Christopher R., Barry Hirsch, Charles Hokayem, and James P. Ziliak. 2019. “Trouble in the Tails? What We Know About Earnings Nonresponse Thirty Years After Lillard, Smith, and Welch,” Journal of Political Economy, 127(5): 2143-2185.

Heflin, Colleen, Samuel Ingram, and James P. Ziliak. 2019. “The Effect of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Mortality,” Health Affairs, 38(11): 1807-1815.

Blundell, Richard, Robert Joyce, Agnes Norris Keiller, and James P. Ziliak. 2018. “Income Inequality and the Labour Market in Britain and the US,” Journal of Public Economics, 162: 48-62 .

Hardy, Bradley, Timothy Smeeding, and James P. Ziliak. 2018. “The Changing Safety Net for Low Income Parents and Their Children: Structural or Cyclical Changes in Income Support Policy?”Demography https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0642-7.

Burns, Sarah K., and James P. Ziliak. 2017. "Identifying the Elasticity of Taxable Income," The Economic Journal, 127(600): 297-329.

Ziliak, James P. 2016. "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families." NBER Working Paper 21038. Here is the final updated version in Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1, Robert Moffitt, editor, NBER and University of Chicago Press, 303-394.

Ziliak, James P., and Craig Gundersen. 2016.  "Multigenerational Families and Food Insecurity." Southern Economic Journal, 82(4): 1147-1166

Gundersen, Craig, and James P. Ziliak. 2015. "Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes," Health Affairs 34(11): 1830-1839.

Hokayem, Charles, Christopher Bollinger, and James P. Ziliak. 2015. "The Role of CPS Nonresponse in the Measurement of Poverty." Journal of the American Statistical Association 110(511): 935-945.

Ziliak, James P. 2015. "Income, Program Participation, Poverty, and Financial Vulnerability: Research and Data Needs." Journal of Economic and Social Measurement 40(1-4): 27-68.

Ziliak, James P. 2015. "Recent Developments in Antipoverty Policies in the United States," In Social Policies in an Age of Austerity, J.K. Scholz, H. Moon, and S. Lee (editors), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 235-262.

Ziliak, James P. 2015. "Why Are So Many Americans on Food Stamps? The Role of the Economy, Policy, and Demographics." in SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being, J. Bartfeld, C. Gundersen, T. Smeeding, and J. Ziliak (editors), Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 18-48.

Islam, T M Tonmoy, Jenny Minier, and James P. Ziliak. 2015. "On Persistent Poverty in a Rich Country." Southern Economic Journal 81(3): 653-678.

Gundersen, Craig, and James P. Ziliak. 2014. "Childhood Food Insecurity in the U.S.: Trends, Causes, and Policy Options." The Future of Children, Princeton-Brookings.

Ziliak, James P. 2014. "Supporting Low-Income Workers through Refundable Child-Care Credits." InPolicies to Address Poverty in America, Melissa Kearney and Benjamin Harris (eds.), The Hamilton Project: Brookings Institution, 109-118.

Hokayem, Charles, and James P. Ziliak. 2014. "Health, Human Capital, and Life Cycle Labor Supply."American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings 104(5): 127-131.

Kniesner, Thomas J., and James P. Ziliak. 2014. "Panel Econometrics of Labor Market Outcomes." In The Oxford Handbook of Panel Econometrics, Badi Baltagi (editor), Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 585- 609.

Hardy, Bradley, and James P. Ziliak. 2014. "Decomposing Trends in Income Volatility: The 'Wild Ride' at the Top and Bottom," Economic Inquiry 52(1): 459-476.

Kniesner, Thomas J., W. Kip Viscusi, Christopher Woock, and James P. Ziliak. 2012. "The Value of a Statistical Life: Evidence from Panel Data." Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1): 74-87.

 Ziliak, James P. 2012. "The Appalachian Regional Development Act and Economic Change," InAppalachian Legacy: Economic Opportunity after the War on Poverty, J. P. Ziliak (ed.), Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 

Ziliak, James P., Bradley Hardy, and Christopher Bollinger. 2011. "Earnings Volatility in America: Evidence from Matched CPS," Labour Economics, 18(6): 742-754.

Ziliak, James P. 2011. Review of Britain's War on Poverty by Jane Waldfogel, Journal of Economic Literature.

Bollinger, Christopher, James P. Ziliak, and Kenneth R. Troske. 2011. "Down from the Mountain: Skill Upgrading and Wages in Appalachia." Journal of Labor Economics, 29(4): 819-857.

 Kniesner, Thomas J., W. Kip Viscusi, and James P. Ziliak. 2010. "Policy Relevant Heterogeneity in the Value of a Statistical Life: New Evidence from Panel Data Quantile Regressions." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 40(1): 15-31.

 Kniesner, Thomas J., and James P. Ziliak. 2008. "Evidence of Tax-Induced Individual Behavioral Responses," with Thomas J. Kniesner, in Fundamental Tax Reform: Issue, Choices, and Implications John Diamond and George Zodrow, eds., Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 375-411.

 Ziliak, James P. 2008. “Filling the Poverty Gap, Then and Now.” In Frontiers of Family Economics Vol. 1, Peter Rupert, ed., Emerald Publishing Group, 39-114.

Heflin, Colleen, and James P. Ziliak. 2008. “Food Insufficiency, Food Stamp Participation, and Mental Health.” Social Science Quarterly 89(3): 706-727.

 Ziliak, James P. 2007. “Making Work Pay: Changes in Effective Tax Rates and Guarantees in U.S. Transfer Programs, 1983–2002,” Journal of Human Resources, 42(3): 619–642.

 Hurst, Erik, and James P. Ziliak. 2006. “Do Welfare Asset Limits Affect Household Saving? Evidence from Welfare Reform,” Journal of Human Resources, 41(1): 46–71.

Ziliak, James P. 2006. “Understanding Poverty Rates and Gaps: Concepts, Trends, and Challenges,”Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics, 1(3): 127–199.

Ziliak, James P., and Thomas J. Kniesner. 2005. “The Effect of Income Taxation on Consumption and Labor Supply,” Journal of Labor Economics, 23(4): 769–796.

Gundersen, Craig, and James P. Ziliak. 2004.  “Poverty and Macroeconomic Performance AcrossSpace, Race, and Family Structure,” Demography 41(1): 61–86.

Ziliak, James P. 2003. “IncomeTransfers and Assets of the Poor,” Review of Economics and Statistics 85(1): 63–76.

Ziliak, James P., Craig Gundersen, and David Figlio. 2003. “Food Stamp Caseloads Over the Business Cycle,” Southern Economic Journal 69(4): 903–919

Kniesner, Thomas J., and James P. Ziliak. 2002. “Tax Reform and Automatic Stabilization,” The American Economic Review 92(3): 590–612.

Kniesner, Thomas J., and James P. Ziliak. 2002. “Explicit versus Implicit Income Insurance,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 25(1): 5–20.

McDowell, John, Larry D. Singell, Jr., and James P. Ziliak. 2001. “Gender and Promotion in the EconomicsProfession,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 54(2): 224–244.

Ziliak, James P., David Figlio, Elizabeth Davis, and Laura Connolly. 2000. “Accounting for the Declinein AFDC Caseloads: Welfare Reform or the Economy?,” Journal of Human Resources 35(3): 570–586.

Ziliak, James P., and Thomas J. Kniesner. 1999. “Estimating Life-Cycle Labor Supply Tax Effects,” Journal of Political Economy 107(2): 326–359.

Ziliak, James P., Beth Wilson, and Joe Stone. 1999. “Spatial Dynamics and Heterogeneity in the Cyclicality ofReal Wages,” Review of Economics and Statistics 81(2): 227–236.

Ziliak, James P. 1998.  “Does the Choice of Consumption MeasureMatter?  An application to thepermanent- income hypothesis,” Journal of Monetary Economics 41(1): 201–216.

Ziliak, James P., and Thomas J. Kniesner. 1998. “The Importance of Sample Attrition in Life-Cycle LaborSupply Estimation,” Journal of Human Resources 33(2): 507–530.

Ziliak, James P. 1997.  “Efficient Estimation with Panel Data whenInstruments are Predetermined:  AnEmpirical Comparison of Moment-Condition Estimators,” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics15(4): 419–431.  

Working Papers and Reports

Blundell, Richard, Christopher Bollinger, Charles Hokayem, and James P. Ziliak. Revised February 2024. "Interpreting Cohort Profiles of Lifecycle Earnings Volatility."

Blundell, Richard, Hugo Lopez, and James P. Ziliak. Revised April 2024. "Labour Market Inequality and the Changing Lifecycle Profile of Male and Female Wages."

Ziliak, James P. 2018. "Economic Change and the Social Safety Net: Are Rural Americans Still Behind?" Prepared for presentation at the conference Rural Poverty: Fifty Years after The People Left Behind.

Ziliak, James P. Ziliak. 2016. "Modernizing SNAP Benefits."The Hamilton Project, Policy Proposal 2016-06, Brookings Institution. with shorter length policy brief:  "Policy Brief: Modernizing SNAP Benefits."

Bollinger, Christopher, and James P. Ziliak. 2008. "Changes in the Distribution of Single Mother Families: Murphy Brown meets Inequality." University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper DP2008-08.

Ziliak, James P., Craig Gundersen, and Margaret P. Haist. 2008. "The Causes, Consequences, and Future of Senior Hunger in America." University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Special Report to the Meals on Wheels Association of America Foundation.

 Ziliak, James P. 2008. "Effective Tax Rates and Guarantees in the Food Stamp Program." A Report to the Food and Nutrition Research Program, Economic Research Service, USDA.

 Ziliak, James P. 2006. "Taxes, Transfers, and the Labor Supply of Single Mothers." Mimeo.