Study Details | Pathways to Work

101082-Study of OpenResearc

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a low-attrition randomized controlled trial with no known issues that suggest the findings cannot be attributed to the intervention.

Intervention: OpenResearch Unconditional Income Pilot

Services provided:

Unconditional cash transfers

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Two stages of randomization occurred. In the first stage, 3,000 individuals who responded to an intake survey and were eligible for the study were randomly selected for inclusion in the cash transfer study sample. A second randomization then occurred assigning individuals to a low ($50 per month) or high ($1,000 per month) cash transfer amount with a 1 in 3 chance of assignment to the high amount.

Time period of study:

Three years

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment, Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Decrease short-term benefit receipt, Decrease long-term benefit receipt

Other outcome domains examined:

Relationship status, barriers to employment, disability status, entrepreneurship, employment quality, employment adequacy, job search and selectivity, employment preferences, time use.

Study funded by:

Funding from the National Science Foundation (#2149344) and private donors

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Quarterly earnings	Q2 2022	High	-826.00	2022 dollars	1,950
Increase long-term earnings	Quarterly earnings	Q3 2023	High	-1,141.00	2023 dollars	1,950
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed	18 mo follow-up (midline)	High	-0.38	percentage points	2,904
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Q2 2022	High	-3.70	percentage points	1,950
Increase long-term employment	Currently employed	30 mo follow-up (endline)	High	-2.86	percentage points	2,876
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Q3 2023	High	-7.00	percentage points	1,950
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of public assistance benefits, annual	18 mo follow-up (midline)	High	-87.44	2022 dollars	2,904
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of public assistance benefits, annual	30 mo follow-up (endline)	High	-332.22	2023 dollars	2,876

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

Individuals between the ages of 21 and 40 with household incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty line in 2019, excluding households where one or more individuals were receiving SSI or SSDI or publicly subsidized housing.

Age

Mean age

30 years

Sex

Female	67%
Male	33%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	30%
White, not Hispanic	47%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	22%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents

57%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	58%
Were unemployed	42%

Specific employment barriers

Had a disability

32%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Local non-profit organizations implemented the program.

Program history:

Pilot program

Intervention services:

The intervention group was offered a $1,000 per month unconditional cash transfer for three years.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The comparison group was offered a $50 per month unconditional cash transfer for three years.

Service receipt duration:

36 months

Intervention funding:

Not described

Study publications

Vivalt, Eva, Elizabeth Rhodes, Alexander W. Bartik, David E. Broockman, Patrick Krause, and Sarah Miller (2025). The employment effects of a guaranteed income: Experimental evidence from two U.S. states. NBER Working Paper 32719. Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w32719

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

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Study of OpenResearch Unconditional Income Pilot