Natasha Pilkauskas

Research

My scholarship centers on how economic, demographic, and social safety net shifts have impacted the lives of U.S. families with low income and their children. Driven by questions about poverty and economic insecurity, my research aims to improve the social safety net and enhance the lives of economically vulnerable families. As a quantitative social scientist, my work is grounded in theories and methods from social demography, family sociology, economics, and developmental psychology/child development. My work primarily uses large household surveys, but I have also engaged in primary data collection, including experimental evaluations. Central to all my research is a commitment to inform and improve policies that aim to alleviate material deprivation and poverty among low-income families and children.

My research falls into four broad areas: 1) Children's living arrangements: household sharing, multigenerational families and grandfamilies, 2) Economic insecurity and the wellbeing of low-income families, 3) Cash transfers, refundable tax credits and the social safety net, and 4) Family processes among economically vulnerable families.

https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-dramatic-rise-in-3-generation-households-104523

Children's Living Arrangements

To create effective programs and policies that support children, it is essential to understand who is in the household and the role that household members play in children’s lives. Despite many studies that have focused on nuclear family change over the last several decades, shared living arrangements have been largely overlooked. Much of my scholarship has been devoted to a better understanding of children’s shared living arrangements and in particular multigenerational households. My work has shown that although children's shared living arrangements have increased over the last few decades, most of the growth has been among multigenerational households. Many more children live with non-nuclear family members, especially grandparents, than was previously thought and these household have been increasing in prevalence since the 1980s.

Publications Related to Children's Living Arrangements

Published Work

Cross, C. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2024). Social inequalities and families. SAGE Handbook on the Sociology of Education.

Amorim, M.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V. ^ (2023) "Excess" doubling up during COVID-19 – changes in children’s shared living arrangements. Demography, 60, 1283-1307.

Michelmore, K.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ (2022). The Earned Income Tax Credit, family complexity and children’s living arrangements. Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 5, 143-165.

Harvey, H., Dunifon, R. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2021). Under whose roof? Understanding the living arrangements of children in doubled-up households. Demography 58, 821-846.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Amorim, M., & Dunifon, R. (2020). Historical trends in children living in multigenerational households in the United States: 1870-2018. Demography, 57, 2269-2296.

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Cross, C. (2018). Beyond the nuclear family: Trends in children living in shared households. Demography, 55, 2283-2297 .

Amorim, M., Dunifon, R. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2017). The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the U.S. Demographic Research, 37, 1695-1706.

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Dunifon, R. (2016). Understanding grandfamilies: Characteristics of grandparents, non-resident parents and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 623-633.

Pilkauskas, N.V. (2014). Living with a grandparent and a parent in early childhood: Associations with school readiness and differences by demographic characteristics. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2587-2599.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Garfinkel, I. & McLanahan, S.S. (2014). The prevalence and economic value of doubling up. Demography, 51, 1667-1676.

Pilkauskas, N.V. (2014). Breastfeeding initiation and duration in coresident grandparent, mother and infant households. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 18, 1955-1963.

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Martinson, M. L. (2014). Three-generation family households in early childhood: Cross-national comparisons between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Demographic Research, 30, 1639-1652.

Pilkauskas, N.V. (2012). Three-generation family households: Differences by family structure at birth. Journal of Marriage and Family, 5, 931-943.

Work in Progress

Pilkauskas, N.V. Changing demography of families and implications for caregiving. Brief for Brookings Institution Care Economy Issue Brief Series. Under Review

Economic Insecurity and the Wellbeing of Low-Income Families

Shedding light on both the consequences and roots of families’ inabilities to meet basic and essential needs is critical for developing ways to further reduce poverty and hardship. A number of my studies have focused on the implications, and drivers, of the experience of material hardship - a consumption-based indicator of economic wellbeing that measures concrete adversities such as going hungry, having utilities shut off, avoiding medical care when needed, or not paying bills. A second strand of my research on economic insecurity focuses on the effects of the Great Recession on low-income families. My research shows that the Great Recession hit groups who were more economically vulnerable hardest (e.g., single mothers, those without college degrees) and likely exacerbated stratification across groups. Lastly, I study employment among low-income mothers, those who are likely to face unstable, low-intensity, or poor quality employment - to consider its impacts on families and children.

Image: Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Publications Related to Economic Insecurity

Published Work

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Bruey, K.* (Forthcoming). Coping in times of crisis: How low-income mothers made ends meet during the pandemic. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Three Decades since Making Ends Meet: What We Know about How Single-Mother Families Survive Today

Murphy, A., Pilkauskas, N.V., Kovski, N.*, & Gould-Werth, A. (2025). How does transportation insecurity compare and relate to other forms of material hardship in the U.S.? Social Indicators Research, 1-29.

Pilkauskas, N.V. (2023) Child poverty and health - the role of income support policies. Milbank Quarterly, 101, 379-395.

Murphy, A., McDonald-Lopez, K.*, Pilkauskas, N.V., & Gould-Werth, A. (2022). Transportation insecurity in the United state: A descriptive portrait. Socius, 8, 1-12.

Bruns, A. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2022). Juggling jobs and kids: Maternal multiple job holding and children’s socioemotional behavior in early childhood. Community Work and Family, 5, 624-642.

Bruns, A. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2019). Multiple job-holding and mental health among low-income mothers. Women's Health Issues, 29, 205-212.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Brooks-Gunn, J. & Waldfogel, J. (2018). Maternal employment stability in early childhood: Links with child behavior and cognitive skills. Developmental Psychology, 54, 410-427.

Duque, V.^, Pilkauskas, N.V.^ & Garfinkel, I. (2018). Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession. PLoS ONE, 13, e0192370 .

Pilkauskas, N.V., Campbell, C. & Wimer, C. (2017). Giving unto others: Private financial transfers and material hardship among families with children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79, 705-722.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Waldfogel, J. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2016). Maternal labor force participation and differences by education in an urban birth cohort study – 1998-2010. Demographic Research, 34, 407-420.

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Garfinkel, I. (2016). Public and private transfers. In Garfinkel, I., McLahanan, S. & Wimer, C. (Eds.), Children of the Great Recession. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Garfinkel, I. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2016). Economic wellbeing. In Garfinkel, I., McLahanan, S. & Wimer, C. (Eds.), Children of the Great Recession. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Gottlieb, A., Pilkauskas, N.V. & Garfinkel, I. (2014). Private financial transfers, family income, and the Great Recession. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76, 1011-1024.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Currie, J. & Garfinkel, I. (2012). The Great Recession, public transfers and material hardship. Social Service Review, 3, 401-427.

Zilanawala, A.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ (2012). Material hardship and children’s socioemotional behaviors: Differences by types of hardship, timing and duration. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 814-825.

Work in Progress

Pilkauskas, N.V., Murphy, A., Kovski, N.*, & Gould-Werth, A. Getting to work: Employment and transportation insecurity.

Pilkauskas, N.V. Maternal irregular work schedules and children’s school readiness.

Image: June Marie via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Cash Transfers, Refundable Tax Credits and the Safety Net

Welfare reforms have shifted the way the U.S. delivers assistance to low-income families away from direct cash assistance to an increasing reliance on work-contingent benefits through tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). One area of my research focuses on refundable tax credits among households with children to better understand how these credits impact low-income families, paying particular attention to potential downstream effects on children. I have studied the effects of the EITC, the Child Tax Credit (CTC), as well as unconditional cash transfers. My work has been funded by the Institute for Research on Poverty, Poverty Solutions, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and the Russell Sage Foundation. Given the increasing reliance of the safety net on tax credits, many policy proposals to further increase the use of tax credits, and political pushes to make other safety net programs work-contingent, this research informs a number of key poverty policies that might impact children.

I also have several newer studies examining the impacts of food policies on children. This includes work funded by a grant from the USDA Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics and data collection funded by several pilot grants.

Publications Related to Refundable Tax Credits, Cash Transfers + the Safety Net

Published Work

Margerison, C.E., Pilkauskas, N.V., Joachim, G., Luo, Z. & Bruckner, T. (Forthcoming). Impacts of the 2021 Child Tax Credit advance monthly payments on birth outcomes in the United States: a natural experiment. American Journal of Epidemiology

McInnis, N.*, Michelmore, K. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (Forthcoming). The intergenerational transmission of public assistance – evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit. Journal of Human Resources.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Michelmore, K., Kovski, N.* & Shaefer, L. (2024). The expanded Child Tax Credit and low-income families’ economic wellbeing. NBER Working Paper 30533 Journal of Population Economics.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Michelmore, K. & Kovski, N. (2024). The 2021 Child Tax Credit, living arrangements, and housing affordability of families with low incomes. Demography, 61, 1069–1096.

Pilkauskas, N.V.^ & Michelmore, K.^ (2023). Who’s caring for the kids? The Earned Income Tax Credit and childcare arrangements. ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.

Michelmore, K.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ (2023). The 2021 Child Tax Credit: Who received It and how did they spend it? AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113, 413-419.

Pilkauskas, N.V., Jacob, B., Rhodes, E., Richard, K.* & Shaefer, H. L. (2023). The COVID cash transfer study: The impacts of a one-time unconditional cash transfer on the wellbeing families receiving SNAP in twelve states. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

Kovski, N.*^, Pilkauskas, N.V.^, Michelmore, K. & Shaefer, L. (2023). Unconditional cash transfer and mental health symptoms among parents with low incomes: Evidence from the 2021 Child Tax Credit . Social Science and Medicine - Population Health, 22, 101420.

Jacob, B., Pilkauskas, N.V., Rhodes, E., Richard, K.* & Shaefer, H. L. (2022). The COVID cash transfer study II: The hardship and mental health impacts of an unconditional cash transfer to low-income individuals. The National Tax Journal, 75, 597-625.

Michelmore, K.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ (2022). The Earned Income Tax Credit, family complexity and children’s living arrangements. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 5, 143-165.

Michelmore, K.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ (2021) Tots and teens: How does child’s age influence maternal labor supply and child care response to the Earned Income Tax Credit? Journal of Labor Economics, 39, 895-929

Pilkauskas, N.V.^ & Michelmore, K.^ (2019). The effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on housing and living arrangements. Demography, 56, 1303-1326

Work in Progress

`Lee, J.*, Michelmore, K., Pilkauskas, N.V. & Wimer, C. The effects of the temporary expansion of the childless EITC on young adults. Revise and Resubmit

Michelmore, K.^ & Pilkauskas, N.V.^ More than just work : The effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on job quality. Revise and Resubmit

Michelmore, K., Pilkauskas, N.V. & Vasquez, B.* The effect of subsidized meals on student outcomes: evidence from Medicaid direct certification and the Community Eligibility Program. In progress

Michelmore, K., Pilkauskas, N.V., Christian, A.*, & Vasquez, B.* Medicaid direct certification, student subsidized meals and student outcomes. In progress

Pilkauskas, N.V., Michelmore, K., & Bruey, K.* The effects of the termination of the SNAP Emergency Allotments on material and economic wellbeing. Under Review

Family Processes

My final strand of research focuses on how family characteristics and processes, like parenting behaviors or fertility patterns, shape the social, psychological and economic wellbeing of families. For example, I have studied relationship quality and parenting, predictors of non-marital fertility for men and links between paternity leave and parental engagement.

Image: Kamaljith KV via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Publications Related to Family Processes

Published Work

Moore, C.R.*, Veliz, P.T., Herrenkohl, T.I., Miller, A.L., Pilkauskas, N.V., & Stoddard, S.A. (2025). Associations among childhood income, latent classes of early adverse childhood experiences, and adolescent mental health. Issues in Mental Health Nursing

Miller, A., Stein, S., Sokol, R., Varisco, R., Trout, P., Biery, L., Julian, M., Ribaudo, J. Kay, J., Pilkauskas, N.V., Gardner-Neblett, N., Herrenkohl, T., Zivin, K. Muzik, M., Rosenblum, K. (2022). From zero to thrive: A model of cross-system and cross-sector relational health to promote early childhood development and health. Infant Mental Health Journal, 43, 624-637.

Jang, H., Pilkauskas, N.V., Tang, F. (2022). Age at immigration and depression: The mediating role of contemporary relationships with adult children among older immigrants, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 77, 413-423.

Pilkauskas, N.V. & Schneider, W. (2020). Fathering among non-resident dads: Does paternity leave matter? Journal of Marriage and Family, 83, 1604-1624.

Carlson, M. J., Van Orman, A. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2013) Examining the antecedents of U.S. nonmarital fathering using two national datasets. Demography, 50, 1421-1447.

Burdette, A. & Pilkauskas, N.V. (2012). Maternal religious involvement and breastfeeding initiation and duration. American Journal of Public Health, 10, 1865-1868.

Carlson, M. J., Pilkauskas, N.V., McLanahan, S.S. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2011). Couples as partners and parents over children’s early years. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 317-334.

Work in Progress

Moore, C.*, Veliz, P., Miller, A., Pilkauskas, N.V., Herrenkohl, T. & Stoddard, S. Individual and interactive effects of early childhood adverse childhood experiences and household income on adolescent depression and anxiety. Under Review

Moore, C.*, Veliz, P., Pilkauskas, N.V., Herrenkohl, T., Miller, A. & Stoddard, S. A longitudinal analysis of adverse childhood experiences, positive childhood experiences, and adolescent mental health. Under Review

Grants

2025-2027(Unfunded)

Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Research. “Statewide Free Meals and Student Achievement.” Principal Investigator (with PI Katherine Michelmore). $999,590.

· This project was reviewed, scored, and approved. Funding status – unclear.

2025-2027

National Institute for Child Health and Development, National Institutes of Health, R21. “Effects of a Natural Experiment on Maternal and Infant Health.” Consultant (PIs Margerison and Bruckner). $446,000

2024-2025

Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Partnership, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “The Effect of Subsidized Meals on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Medicaid Direct Certification.” Principal Investigator (with PI Katherine Michelmore). $75,000

2024-2025

Population Dynamics and Health Program, Institute for Social Research Pilot Funding. “Tracking Trends in Food Insecurity and Psychological Wellbeing over the SNAP month.” Principal Investigator (with co-PI Anna Gassman-Pines and co-PI Rebecca Ryan). $10,000.

2024-2025

Duke Population Research Center. “Tracking Trends in Food Insecurity and Psychological Wellbeing over the SNAP month.” Co-Principal Investigator (with PI Anna Gassman-Pines and co-PI Rebecca Ryan). $20,000.

2024-2025

Duke Sanford Seed Funding. “Tracking Trends in Food Insecurity and Psychological Wellbeing over the SNAP month.” Co-Principal Investigator (with PI Anna Gassman-Pines and co-PI Rebecca Ryan). $20,000.

2022-2023

Washington Center for Equitable Growth. "The Effects of the Child Tax Credit on the Economic Wellbeing of Families with Low Incomes." Principal Investigator (with co-PI's Katherine Michelmore and Luke Shaefer). $70,000.

2022

Child Health Evaluation and Research Center Grant (CHEAR-Squared). “The Effects of the Child Tax Credit on the Health and Wellbeing of Families with Low Incomes.” Principal Investigator (with co-PI’s Katherine Michelmore and Luke Shaefer). $20,000.

2021-2022

Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. “Impacts of Monthly Child Tax Credit Benefits on Well-Being.” Co-Principal Investigator (with PI Luke Shaefer and co-PI Katherine Michelmore). $85,000.

2020-2021

Russell Sage Foundation. "What kind of jobs? The effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Job Quality" Principal Investigator (with PI Katherine Michelmore). $29,272.

2017-2019

National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation. “Maternal employment stability, intensity, and quality: Exploring the links with children’s school readiness and later educational outcomes.” Postdoctoral Fellow. $70,000.

2017-2018

Institute for Research on Poverty’s Extramural Small Grants Program for Research on Policies and Programs to Reduce Child Poverty and Its Effects, University of Wisconsin/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. “Assessing the effectiveness of tax credits in early childhood: Links between the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Poverty and Material Hardship.” Principal Investigator (with PI Katherine Michelmore). $25,000.

2017-2018

Institute for Research on Women and Gender Junior Faculty Scholar 2017-2018, University of Michigan. “Maternal employment and child wellbeing”. Faculty Fellow. One course release.

2017-2018

Poverty Solutions Junior Faculty Small Grant, University of Michigan. “Does the EITC reduce housing instability?” Principal Investigator (with PI Katherine Michelmore). $14,391.

2011-2012

American Education Research Association Grants Program, dissertation grant. “Three-generation family households and child wellbeing. Principal Investigator. $20,000.

University of Michigan, Ford School of Public Policy

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