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Summary

OpenResearch Unconditional Income Pilot offered a $1,000 per month unconditional cash transfer for three years to participants ages 21 to 40 years who had a household income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

Transfers were considered gifts from non-profit organizations and not considered taxable income. Legislation was passed in participating study sites to protect against means-tested benefit loss.

Individuals in households where at least one person was receiving Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance or was residing in publicly-subsidized housing were excluded from participation. The program was implemented in ten counties in northeastern Texas, including those in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area, and nine counties in northern Illinois, including those in the Chicago metro area.

101082-Study of OpenResearc
Populations and employment barriers:

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-5,358 per year -0.147 1950
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-6,780 per year -0.186 1950
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -3% (in percentage points) -0.075 2904
Long-term Not supported unfavorable -6% (in percentage points) -0.143 2876
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Little evidence to assess support $0 per year 0.000 0
Long-term Little evidence to assess support $0 per year 0.000 0
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Cannot assess support

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Organizations implementing program

Local non-profit organizations

The information contained here reflects how the program was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

The providers and study site were located in northern Illinois, including Chicago and Rockford, IL, and northeastern Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco, TX.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
30%
White, not Hispanic
47%
Unknown or not reported
1%
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.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

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