Does Income Affect Health? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Guaranteed Income
Working Paper 32711
DOI 10.3386/w32711
Issue Date
Revision Date
We study a randomized trial in which 1,000 low-income U.S. adults age 21 to 40 received $1,000 per month for three years, from November 2020 until October 2023, while 2,000 control participants received $50 monthly over that same period. The transfer produced large but short-lived improvements in stress and food security and increased hospital, emergency department, and dental care use. However, it did not improve self-reported physical health, clinical biomarkers, or mental health after the first year, and we can rule out small effects on many outcomes. We also find no effects on the health of children in participants’ households.
-
-
Copy CitationSarah Miller, Elizabeth Rhodes, Alexander W. Bartik, David E. Broockman, Patrick K. Krause, and Eva Vivalt, "Does Income Affect Health? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Guaranteed Income," NBER Working Paper 32711 (2024), https://doi.org/10.3386/w32711.Download Citation
-
-