@techreport{NBERw5701,
 title = "Do Financial Incentives Encourage Welfare Recipients to Work? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of the Self-Sufficiency Project",
 author = "David Card and Philip K. Robins",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "5701",
 year = "1996",
 month = "August",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w5701",
 abstract = {This paper reports on a randomized evaluation of an earnings subsidy offered to long-term welfare recipients in Canada.  The program -- known as the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) -- provides a supplement equal to one-half of the difference between a target earnings level and a participant's actual earnings.  The SSP supplement is similar to a negative income tax with two important differences:  (1) eligibility is limited to long-term welfare recipients who find a full-time job; and (2) the payment depends on individual earnings rather than family income.  Our evaluation is based on a classical randomized design: one half of a group of single parents who had been on welfare for over a year were eligible to receive the SSP supplement, while the other half were assigned to a control group.  Results for an early cohort of SSP participants and controls suggest that the financial incentives of the Self-Sufficiency Program increase labor market attachment and reduce welfare participation.},
}