More than one dozen academic studies have found guaranteed income programs led to several key benefits, including higher rates of employment, improved financial stability, better housing and food security, and more time spent together as families.
A guaranteed income refers to monthly cash payments made to low-income individuals, with no strings attached. Around 150 cities are or have recently run guaranteed income pilots, and 60 of those are affiliated with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), a network of mayors and city and county officials dedicated to creating best practices for this policy intervention. Several leading research institutions have collaborated with MGI cities and counties to study these guaranteed income pilots, and full results have been released for thirteen cities whose pilots have completed.
Nearly every pilot studied has shown higher rates of employment, in direct contradiction to the most common criticism from opponents. In Stockton, CA recipients found full-time employment at more than twice the rate of non-recipients. Paterson, NJ‘s year-long guaranteed income program showed a rise in gig work and self-employment, and recipients increased their income significantly. In Saint Paul, MN researchers found an increase in employment that lasted after the program. Cambridge, MA‘s program for single caregivers showed an increase in the employment rate from 36% at baseline to 40% after 12 months, while employment fell amongst the control group. Birmingham, AL‘s pilot for single mothers showed that participants experienced significantly fewer issues at work due to childcare challenges—44 percent fewer recipients reported having been late for work in the past month due to childcare issues than did working mothers in the control group. Read more about employment outcomes here.
Increased parent-child time is another common finding, and several cities have demonstrated better outcomes for children because of it. In Cambridge, MA, households receiving guaranteed income reported fewer school disciplinary actions and fewer instances of absenteeism and truancy, and more children placed in the Advanced Placement classes among the recipient group, compared to the control group. In Los Angeles, CA, parents receiving guaranteed income were significantly more likely to maintain their children’s extracurricular activities and reported more time for parenting. In Richmond, VA, recipients reported being able to make deliberate parenting choices, key for healthy child development. An analysis of four Southern cities–Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Louisville, KYand Shreveport, LA–found positive impacts in 5 key areas: basic needs, educational outcomes, work-life balance, parent-child relationships, and parents’ mental health. Read more about parent-child outcomes here.
Greater financial stability has been found across all studies, and other notable results include greater housing and food security, better mental health, reduced exposure to intimate partner violence, among other important quality of life markers.
The thirteen pilots randomly selected a fixed number of people to receive guaranteed income out of a larger pool of qualified applicants, and most included a control group of people who also met the qualifications. Most pilots were based on income level alone, but some programs were targeted to specific, vulnerable populations. Cambridge’s program was for single caregivers making less than 80% of the area median income, and Birmingham’s focused on single mothers specifically. Ventura County, California opted to support foster youth with a guaranteed income as they transitioned out of state care. In Denver, Colorado, the Basic Income Project focused on people without housing.
“What makes these guaranteed income pilots especially meaningful is the democratic process that our pilots naturally undergo, as each municipality elects leaders who promise to tackle the issues that the community prioritizes,” said Michael D. Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. “Research shows that recipients are able to pull themselves out of poverty and create economic stability for themselves and their families. With polls showing that a majority of American voters – 62% – support a federal guaranteed income, it’s time to take this from pilots to national policy.”
Ultimately, the collaboration between cities, counties and researchers will produce the largest body of guaranteed income research ever. Read more about pilot-specific results, and find new studies as they are released, at www.guaranteedincomeworks.org/research, and at the Denver Basic Income Project, the Urban Institute (for Austin, TX) and the Arlington Community Foundation (Arlington, VA).