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The Long-Term Effects of Cash Assistance

Author

Listed:
  • David J. Price

    (Princeton University)

  • Jae Song

    (Social Security Administration)

Abstract

We investigate the long-term effects of cash assistance for beneficiaries and their children by following up with participants in the Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment. Treated families in this randomized experiment received thousands of dollars annually in extra government benefits for three or five years in the 1970s. We match experimental records to Social Security Administration data using a novel algorithm and find that treatment decreased adults' post-experimental annual earnings by $1,800 and increased disability benefit applications by 6.3 percentage points, possibly driven by occupational changes. In contrast, children in treated families experienced no significant effects on any main variable studied.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Price & Jae Song, 2018. "The Long-Term Effects of Cash Assistance," Working Papers 621, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:indrel:621
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    2. LoPalo, Melissa, 2019. "The effects of cash assistance on refugee outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 27-52.
    3. Hilary W. Hoynes & Jesse Rothstein, 2019. "Universal Basic Income in the US and Advanced Countries," NBER Working Papers 25538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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