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Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gennetian, LA; Duncan, G; Fox, NA; Halpern-Meekin, S; Magnuson, K; Noble, KG; Yoshikawa, H
Published in: Res Sq
February 7, 2023

Economists have limited causal evidence on how families receiving unconditional income would spend those funds. We examine financial and time investments in infants among families living in poverty from a large-scale, multi-site randomized controlled study of monthly unconditional cash. We find increased spending on child-specific goods and mothers' early-learning activities with their infants. The marginal propensity to consume child-focused items from the cash transfer exceeded that from other income, consistent with the behavioral cues in the design. We find no statistically detectable offsets in household earnings or impacts on pre-registered outcomes related to expenditures, labor supply, childcare or subjective well-being.

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Published In

Res Sq

DOI

EISSN

2693-5015

Publication Date

February 7, 2023

Location

United States
 

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Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G., Fox, N. A., Halpern-Meekin, S., Magnuson, K., Noble, K. G., & Yoshikawa, H. (2023). Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S. Res Sq. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2507540/v1
Gennetian, Lisa A., Greg Duncan, Nathan A. Fox, Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Katherine Magnuson, Kimberly G. Noble, and Hirokazu Yoshikawa. “Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S.Res Sq, February 7, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2507540/v1.
Gennetian LA, Duncan G, Fox NA, Halpern-Meekin S, Magnuson K, Noble KG, et al. Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S. Res Sq. 2023 Feb 7;
Gennetian, Lisa A., et al. “Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S.Res Sq, Feb. 2023. Pubmed, doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2507540/v1.
Gennetian LA, Duncan G, Fox NA, Halpern-Meekin S, Magnuson K, Noble KG, Yoshikawa H. Unconditional Cash and Family Investments in Infants: Evidence from a Large-Scale Cash Transfer Experiment in the U.S. Res Sq. 2023 Feb 7;

Published In

Res Sq

DOI

EISSN

2693-5015

Publication Date

February 7, 2023

Location

United States