Opinion
Opinion

The Persistence of Benefit Cliffs: A Behavioral Look at a Policy Problem

The Persistence of Benefit Cliffs: A Behavioral Look at a Policy Problem
A sign in support of Medicaid rests in a walking device during a sit-in protest against a Republican budget plan on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 27, 2025. Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Vladimir Snurenco
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Commentary

Benefit cliffs occur when earning slightly more—through a raise or extra hours—leaves people worse off because they lose government benefits. Many economists believe these cliffs can be “smoothed out” through better program design. But this view overlooks a critical factor: human psychology. To truly address benefit cliffs, policymakers must move beyond formulas and graphs and consider how people actually think, feel, and behave. In some cases, benefit cliffs may not just be hard to eliminate—they may be impossible to fully remove.

Vladimir Snurenco
Vladimir Snurenco
Author
Vladimir Snurenco is a research fellow at the Center for Social Flourishing at the Acton Institute and teaches Economics at Calvin University. In the past he founded and ran a private language school in Chisinau, Moldova. Vladimir taught Economics at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a Research Assistant in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University working at MYPLACE, a European Commission funded project. Vladimir was born in the Soviet Union and experienced living under socialism as well as transitional economies. He completed his doctorate at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, where he also taught Economics for a number of years. He has an MA in Sociology from the University of Warwick in the UK and a BA in Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova.
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