Work Requirements

insights

In the USA, the 1970's reforms to the welfare system that introduced targeted cash transfer programs conditional on work were associated with higher infant mortality rates. A $1,000 increase in average CTC is associated with a 0.37 hour increase in weekly working hours for single mothers. Basic income lets people assert their true work preferences, shaking constraints on working hours. 3 targeted & unconditional cash transfer programs found positive effects on infant health in the first year of life. In high-income countries, cash transfer programs that carry work requirements are not associated with improved health of young children, whereas unconditional ones are.

sources

Do cash transfer programmes yield better health in the first year of life? A systematic review linking low-income/middle-income and high-income contexts Basic Income & the Right to Work: A Keynesian Approach Child Tax Credit and Maternal Labor Supply

authors

Steven P. Miller Akshay Rajaram Arjumand Siddiqi William A. Jackson Wei Zheng

reports