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Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Noble, KG; Magnuson, K; Gennetian, LA; Duncan, GJ; Yoshikawa, H; Fox, NA; Halpern-Meekin, S
Published in: Pediatrics
October 2021

Childhood economic disadvantage is associated with lower cognitive and social-emotional skills, reduced educational attainment, and lower earnings in adulthood. Despite these robust correlations, it is unclear whether family income is the cause of differences observed between children growing up in poverty and their more fortunate peers or whether these differences are merely due to the many other aspects of family life that co-occur with poverty. Baby's First Years is the first randomized controlled trial in the United States designed to identify the causal impact of poverty reduction on children's early development. A total of 1000 low-income mothers of newborns were enrolled in the study and began receiving a monthly unconditional cash gift for the first several years of their children's lives. Mothers were randomly assigned to receive either a large monthly cash gift or a nominal monthly cash gift. All monthly gifts are administered via debit card and can be freely spent with no restrictions. Baby's First Years aims to answer whether poverty reduction in early childhood (1) improves children's developmental outcomes and promotes healthier brain functioning, and (2) improves family functioning and better enables parents to support child development. Here we present the rationale and design of the study as well as potential implications for science and policy.

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Published In

Pediatrics

DOI

EISSN

1098-4275

ISSN

0031-4005

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

148

Issue

4

Start / End Page

e2020049702

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Poverty
  • Pediatrics
  • Mothers
  • Infant
  • Income Tax
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Health Status Disparities
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Noble, K. G., Magnuson, K., Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G. J., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N. A., & Halpern-Meekin, S. (2021). Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States. Pediatrics, 148(4), e2020049702. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-049702
Noble, Kimberly G., Katherine Magnuson, Lisa A. Gennetian, Greg J. Duncan, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Nathan A. Fox, and Sarah Halpern-Meekin. “Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States.Pediatrics 148, no. 4 (October 2021): e2020049702. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-049702.
Noble KG, Magnuson K, Gennetian LA, Duncan GJ, Yoshikawa H, Fox NA, et al. Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States. Pediatrics. 2021 Oct;148(4):e2020049702.
Noble, Kimberly G., et al. “Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States.Pediatrics, vol. 148, no. 4, Oct. 2021, p. e2020049702. Epmc, doi:10.1542/peds.2020-049702.
Noble KG, Magnuson K, Gennetian LA, Duncan GJ, Yoshikawa H, Fox NA, Halpern-Meekin S. Baby's First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States. Pediatrics. 2021 Oct;148(4):e2020049702.

Published In

Pediatrics

DOI

EISSN

1098-4275

ISSN

0031-4005

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

148

Issue

4

Start / End Page

e2020049702

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Poverty
  • Pediatrics
  • Mothers
  • Infant
  • Income Tax
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Health Status Disparities