Guaranteed Income: A Policy Landscape Review of 105 Programs in the United States

Rodriguez Sarina, Kagawa Rose, Koundinya Vikram, Choe Daniel, Vaitla Bapu, Volzer Alyx and Brinkley Catherine ()
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Rodriguez Sarina: 8789 University of California Davis , Davis, CA, USA
Kagawa Rose: Department of Emergency Medicine, 8789 University of California Davis , Davis, CA, USA
Koundinya Vikram: Center for Regional Change, 8789 University of California Davis , Davis, CA, USA
Choe Daniel: Department of Human Ecology, 8789 University of California Davis , Davis, CA, USA
Vaitla Bapu: TH Chan School of Public Health, University of Harvard, Cambridge, USA
Volzer Alyx: 8789 University of California Davis , Davis, CA, USA
Brinkley Catherine: 8789 University of California Davis , 2333 Hart Hall, 1 Shields Avenue, 95616-5270, Davis, CA, USA

Basic Income Studies, 2025, vol. 20, issue 1, 93-123

Abstract: Cash assistance programs have been piloted as Basic or Guaranteed Income across the United States. This research asks how programs are being designed and evaluated, with implications for how collective program impacts are understood. To answer this question, we assemble and review 105 programs based in the United States, covering over 40,000 beneficiaries. We compare eligibility criteria, funding sources, distribution amounts, program administration, pilot duration, and evaluation measures. We find that just over half of the programs use income-based qualifications and most (84 %) have some form of place-based eligibility criteria defined by residence. The plurality of programs (28) are based in California (CA) and 16 operate at the county level. We also find that while the development of pilots often uses community development framing, funding and evaluation measures tend to be more aligned with either economic or public health intervention assessments. As multiple fields of study engage with poverty alleviation, our findings add nuance to the complex and continuously developing landscape of interventions and evaluations.

Keywords: basic income; poverty; cash transfer; economic development; social welfare; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1515/bis-2023-0030

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