Are Universal and Guaranteed Basic Income Programs Effective in the United States? A Review
Abstract
Purpose: Poverty continues to be a pervasive social problem within the United States despite a plethora of services and government assistance programs. Currently, universal and guaranteed basic income programs are being actively promoted. Method: This review incorporated universal or guaranteed basic income primary reports open to any country and in English from four academic databases including grey literature between January 1, 2013, and April 8, 2023, using randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental study designs with no specified outcome. Results: Out of an initial 147 articles, four of the primary studies utilized a randomized controlled trial and one used a quasi-experimental design. One study occurred in the United States. Discussion: Despite the increasing implementation of such programs throughout the United States and their associated high cost, evidence is lacking based on their long-term impact and effectiveness. Further study is recommended including stronger evaluations of current and future programs.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
*Publications and reports of UBI/GBI programs included in this review
Allas T., Maksimainen J., Manyika J., Singh N. (2020). An experiment to inform universal basic income. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/an-experiment-to-inform-universal-basic-income
American Psychological Association (2023). Exploring the mental health, effects of poverty, hunger, and homelessness on children and teens. https://www.apa.org/topics/socioeconomic-status/poverty-hunger-homelessness-children
Arnold C. (2018). The anti-poverty experiment. Nature, 557, 626–628. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05259-x
*Banerjee A., Faye M., Krueger A., Niehaus P., Suri T. (2020). Effects of a universal basic income during the pandemic. Innovations for Poverty Action Working Paper. https://econweb.ucsd.edu/∼pniehaus/papers/ubi_covid.pdf
Bertrand A. (2022). How China defeated poverty. American Affairs, 6(1), 137–148. https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2022/02/how-china-defeated-poverty/#:∼:text=Education%20is%20a%20key%20to,a%20special%20focus%20on%20teachers
Bhutta N., Bricker J., Chang A. C., Dettling L. J., Goodman S., Hsu J. W., Moore K. B., Reber S., Henriques Volz A., Windle R. (2020). Changes in U.S. family finances from 2016 to 2019: Evidence from the survey of consumer finances. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 106(5), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.17016/bulletin.2020.106
Brooks-Gunn J., Duncan G. J. (1997). The effects of poverty on children. The Future of Children, 7(2), 55–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602387
Brucker D. L., Mitra S., Chaitoo N., Mauro J. (2015). More likely to be poor whatever the measure: Working-age persons with disabilities in the United States. Social Science Quarterly, 96(1), 273–296. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12098
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2023). Policy basics: The earned income tax credit. https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-earned-income-tax-credit
Charrois T. L. (2015). Systematic reviews: What do you need to know to get started? The Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 68(2), 144–148. https://doi.org.10.4212/cjhp.v68i2.1440
Confronting Poverty (2023). Tools for understanding economic hardship and risk. https://confrontingpoverty.org/poverty-facts-and-myths/americas-poor-are-worse-off-than-elsewhere/than-elsewhere/
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2015). Measuring financial well-being: A guide to using the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale. https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201512_cfpb_financial-well-being-user-guide-scale.pdf
Counties for a Guaranteed Basic Income (2021). All Americans deserve an income floor. https://countiesforaguaranteedincome.org/
Creamer J., Shrider E. A., Burns K., Chen F. (2022). Poverty in the United States: 2021. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-277.html
Currie J., Chorniy A. (2021). Medicaid and child health insurance program improve child health and reduce poverty but face threats. Academic Pediatrics, 21(8), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2021.01.009
de Paz-Báñez M. A., Asensio-Coto M. J., Sánchez-López C., Aceytuno M.-T. (2020). Is there empirical evidence on how the implementation of a universal basic income (UBI) affects labour supply? A systematic review. Sustainability, 12(22), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229459
DiBenedetto C. (2022). Every U.S. city testing free money programs. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/cities-with-universal-basic-income-guaranteed-income-programs
Dixon-Woods M., Bonas S., Booth A., Jones D. R., Miller T., Sutton A. J., Shaw R. L., Smith J. A., Young B. (2006). How can systematic reviews incorporate qualitative research? A critical perspective. Qualitative Research, 6(1), 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794106058867
Fay B. (2021). Poverty in the United States. Debt.org. https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/poverty-united-states/
Ferdosi M., McDowell T., Lewchuk W., Ross S. (2020). Southern Ontario’s basic income experience. Hamilton Community Foundation, McMaster University, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. https://labourstudies.socsci.mcmaster.ca/documents/southern-ontarios-basic-income-experience.pdf
Fottrell Q. (2017). When Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg sound the same dire warning about jobs, it’s time to listen. MarketWatch. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-gates-updates-the-plastics-advice-from-the-graduate-for-2017-2017-05-16
Frothingham S., West R., Boteach M., Vallas R. (2015). Strengthening the child tax credit would provide greater economic stability for millennial parents. The Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/strengthening-the-child-tax-credit-would-provide-greater-economic-stability-for-millennial-parents/
Ghuman U. (2022). A policy review of the SEED (Stockton economic empowerment demonstration) project: Is the devil in the details? International Journal of Community Well-Being, 5, 819–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-021-00145-3
Haider A. (2021). The basic facts about children in poverty. The Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/basic-facts-children-poverty/
Hasdell R. (2020). What we know about universal basic income: A cross-synthesis of reviews. Stanford Basic Income Lab. https://basicincome.stanford.edu/uploads/Umbrella%20Review%20BI_final.pdf
Haskins R. (2017). Helping work reduce poverty. The Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/helping-work-reduce-poverty/
Haushofer J., Shapiro J. (2018). The long-term impact of unconditional cash transfers: Experimental evidence from Kenya. Busara Center for Behavioral Economics. https://jeremypshapiro.appspot.com/papers/Haushofer_Shapiro_UCT2_2018-01-30_paper_only.pdf
Hayden N. (2023). Oregon lawmakers consider pilot program to provide $1,000 a month to low-income unhoused Oregonians. The Oregonian/OregonLive. https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/03/oregon-lawmakers-consider-pilot-program-to-provide-1000-a-month-to-low-income-unhoused-oregonians.html
Heritage Foundation (2019). How to fight the war on poverty. https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/heritage-explains/how-fight-the-war-poverty
Hoynes H., Rothstein J. (2019). Universal basic income in the United States and advanced countries. The Annual Review of Economics, 11(1), 929–958. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030237
Johnson R. C., Schoeni R. F. (2011). The influence of early-life events on human capital, health status, and labor market outcomes over the life course. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 11(3), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.2521
Kaiser Family Foundation (2021a). Poverty rate by age. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-age/
Kaiser Family Foundation (2021b). Poverty rate by race/ethnicity. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-raceethnicity/
*Kangas O., Jauhiainen S., Simanainen M., & Ylikanno (2019). The basic income experiment 2017-2018 in Finland. Preliminary results. Reports and Memorandums of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/161361/Report_The%20Basic%20Income%20Experiment%2020172018%20in%20Finland.pdf
Kaplan K., Farooqui S., Clark J., Dobson E., Jefferson R., Kelly N., Buitrago K., Drew K., Lira A., Williams M., Neuman T., Yooin K. (2022). Temporary assistance for needy families: Sanctioning and child support compliance among black families in Illinois. Health Affairs, 41(12), 1735–1743. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00746
Katch H. (2017). Medicaid works: Millions benefit from Medicaid’s effective, efficient coverage. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/medicaid-works-millions-benefit-from-medicaids-effective-efficient-coverage
Kearney M. S., Mogstad M. (2019). Universal basic income (UBI) as a policy response to current challenges. The Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/UBI-ESG-Memo-082319.pdf
Keith-Jennings B., Llobrera J., Dean S. (2019). Links of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with food insecurity, poverty, and health: Evidence and potential. American Journal of Public Health, 109(12), 1636-1640. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305325
Kelly J. (2020). U.S. lost over 60 million jobs- now robots, tech and artificial intelligence will take millions more. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/10/27/us-lost-over-60-million-jobs-now-robots-tech-and-artificial-intelligence-will-take-millions-more/
Kessler R. C., Mroczek D. (1994). Final versions of our non-specific psychological distress scale. Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
Kurhi E. (2023). County of Santa Clara’s basic income pilot: ‘This program is changing lives’. County of Santa Clara Office of Communications and Public Affairs. https://news.sccgov.org/county-santa-claras-basic-income-pilot-program-changing-lives
Maag E., Airi N. (2020). Moving forward with the earned income tax credit and child tax credit: Analysis of proposals to expand refundable tax credits. National Tax Journal, 73(4), 1163–1186. https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2020.4.11
Manyika J., Lund S., Chui M., Bughin J., Woetzel J., Batra P., Ko R., Sanghvi S. (2017). Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation. McKinsey and Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/∼/media/BAB489A30B724BECB5DEDC41E9BB9FAC.ashx
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (2021). All Americans deserve an income floor. https://www.mayorsforagi.org/
Mein Grundeinkommen e.V. (2020). Basic Income Pilot Project: How does a basic income change our society? We want to know. https://images.meinbge.de/image/upload/v1/pilot/projektmappe/Basic_Income_Pilot_Project_Magazine.pdf
Mendelson M. (2019). Lessons from Ontario’s Basic Income pilot. Maytree. https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/Lessons-from-Ontario%E2%80%99s-Basic-Income-Pilot.pdf
Mode N. A., Evans M. K., Zonderman A. B. (2016). Race, neighborhood economic status, income inequality, and mortality. PLoS ONE, 11(5), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154535
Munnell A. H. (1986). Lessons from the income maintenance experiments: An overview. In Lessons from the Income Maintenance Experiments: Proceedings of a Conference Held in September 1986. http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/conf/conf30/conf30a.pdf
Muro M., Maxim R., Whiton J. (2019). Automation and Artificial Intelligence. Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ES_2019.01_BrookingsMetro_Automation-AI_Report_Muro-Maxim-Whiton-FINAL.pdf
Napoletano E. (2022). An unexpected outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic: A slew of universal basic income programs. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/universal-basic-income-programs/
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2023). Poverty rate. https://data.oecd.org/inequality/poverty-rate.htm#indicator-chart
Pathak A., Ross K. (2021). The top 12 solutions to cut poverty in the United States. The Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-12-solutions-cut-poverty-united-states/
Pavetti L., Zane A. (2021). TANF cash assistance helps families, but program is not the success some claim. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/tanf-cash-assistance-helps-families-but-program-is-not-the-success-some
Radloff L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
*Riutort S., Julia A., Lain B., Torrens L. (2021). B-MINCOME polit final results (2017-2019). Combining a guaranteed minimum income and active social policies in deprived urban areas of Barcelona. Direction of Social Innovation, Area of Social Rights, Global Justice, Feminism and LGBTI Affairs, Barcelona City Council. https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/dretssocials/sites/default/files/arxius-documents/bmincome_executive_report.pdf
Rosen J. (2021, June 21). Guaranteed income: An economic support whose time has come. Shriver Center on Poverty Law. https://www.povertylaw.org/article/guaranteed-income/
Ryan R. M., Fauth R. C., Brooks-Gunn J. (2006). Childhood poverty: Implications for school readiness and early childhood education. In B. Spodek, O. N. Saracho (Eds.), Handbook of research on the education of young children (pp. 323–346). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Salehi-Isfahani D., Mostafavi-Dehzooei M. H. (2017). Cash transfers and labor supply: Evidence from a large-scale program in Iran. The Economic Research Forum. https://erf.org.eg/app/uploads/2017/05/1090.pdf
Semega J., Kollar M., Shrider E. A., Creamer J.F. (2021). Income and poverty in the United States: 2019. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p60-270.pdf
Suri T., Niehaus P., Krueger A., Faye M., Banerjee A. (2018). The effects of a universal basic income in Kenya. Innovations for Poverty Action. https://poverty-action.org/node/32296/pdf
Thompson T., McQueen A., Croston M., Luke A., Caito N., Quinn K., Funaro J., Kreuter M. W. (2019). Social needs and health-related outcomes among Medicaid beneficiaries. Health Education and Behavior, 46(3), 436–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198118822724
Tobsch V., Holtmann T. S., Brandt C. (2022). Die auswirkungen von hartz-iv-sanktionen. Eine studie im auftrag von sanktionsfrie e.V. Institut fur empirische Sozial- und Wirtschaftsforschung (INES Berlin). https://sanktionsfrei.de/assets/Hartzplus-Studie_Endbericht.pdf
*Unayama T., Inoue T. (2022). Maezawa Method. Basic income social experiment survey report. Maezawa Otoshidama Management Secretariat. https://www.yusakumaezawa.com/en/data/
Unayama T. (n.d.). ‘Maezawa Basic Income Social Experiment 2020’ and ‘Basic Income Social Experiment Survey’. Maezawa Otoshidama Management Secretariat. https://www.yusakumaezawa.com/assets/pdf/BasicIncome_Social_Experiment_Survey_en.pdf
United States Census Bureau (2023). How the census bureau measures poverty. https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (2022) Rural poverty & well-being. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/
United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (2021). 2021 Poverty guidelines. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references/2021-poverty-guidelines
USAGov (2023). Government benefits. https://www.usa.gov/benefits
Vallas R., Boteach M. (2015). Top 5 reasons why TANF is not a model for other income assistance programs. The Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-5-reasons-why-tanf-is-not-a-model-for-other-income-assistance-programs/
Verlaat T., de Kruijk M., Rosenkranz S., Groot L., Sanders M., van Dien K., Miller J. (2020). Study what works: Summary of the final report in English. Utrecht University. https://www.uu.nl/en/publication/final-report-what-works-weten-wat-werkt
Verlaat T., Todeschini F., Ramos X. (2023). The employment effects of generous and unconditional cash support. IZA Institute of Labor Economics. https://docs.iza.org/dp15976.pdf
Wagmiller R. L., Adelman R. M. (2009). Childhood and intergenerational poverty: The long-term consequences of growing up poor (pp. 1–7). National Center for Children in Poverty. https://www.nccp.org/publication/childhood-and-intergenerational-poverty/
Ware J. E., Sherbourne C. D. (1992). The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30(6), 473–483. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199206000-00002
Weaver R., Magavern S., Smith H. (2023). Raising the minimum wage: The impact on women, people of color, and immigrants in Western New York. https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/economic_development/raising_the_minimum_wage.pdf
*West S., Castro A. (2023). Impact of guaranteed income on health, finances, and agency: Findings from the Stockton randomized controlled trial. Journal of Urban Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00723-0
*West S., Castro A., Samra S., Coltrera E. (2021). Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration preliminary analysis: SEED’s first year. Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6039d612b17d055cac14070f/t/6050294a1212aa40fdaf773a/1615866187890/SEED_Preliminary+Analysis-SEEDs+First+Year_Final+Report_Individual+Pages+.pdf
Widerquist K. (2017). The cost of basic income: Back-to-the envelope calculations. Basic Income Studies, 12(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2017-0016
Wilson N., McDaid S. (2021). The mental health effects of a universal basic income: A synthesis of the evidence from previous pilots. Social Science & Medicine, 287, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114374
Y Combinator Open Research (2020). Basic income project proposal: Overview for comments and feedback. Y Combinator Research. https://cdn2.assets-servd.host/future-platypus/production/publications/Basic-Income-Proposal.pdf
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: October 3, 2023
Issue published: May 2024
Keywords
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Research on Social Work Practice.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 813
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Receive email alerts when this article is cited
Web of Science: 0
Crossref: 0
There are no citing articles to show.
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
