The COVID-19 cash transfer study II: The hardship and mental health impacts of an unconditional cash transfer to low-income individuals

Brian Jacob, Natasha Pilkauskas, Elizabeth Rhodes, Katherine Richard and H. Luke Shaefer

National Tax Journal, 2022, vol. 75, issue 3, 597 - 625

Abstract: This paper reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of a one-time, $1,000 unconditional cash transfer to low-income households in October 2020. We use a combination of administrative and survey data collected six weeks posttreatment to examine four preregistered hypotheses: impacts on material hardship and mental health in the full study sample as well as among a very low-income sample. We find no effects of the cash transfer on any of the prespecified or other exploratory outcomes. We explore various explanations for these null results and discuss implications for future research on unconditional cash transfer programs.

Date: 2022
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