Study Details | Pathways to Work

27882.01-Study of Paycheck Pl

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition, suggesting the findings can be attributed to the program.

Program: Paycheck Plus

Services provided:

Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives

Setting: Urban only

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for review: Version 1.0

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Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

This study was a randomized controlled trial. To qualify for study enrollment, people had to (1) be unmarried, (2) be a U.S. citizen or resident, (3) be between ages 21 and 64, (4) not have dependent children, (5) have an annual income less than $30,000, and (6) not be a recipient of or applicant for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. Study enrollment took place from fall 2015 to spring 2016. Afterward, half of the study participants were randomly assigned to the program condition (Paycheck Plus for three years), and the other half were randomly assigned to the comparison condition (they did not receive a tax credit from Paycheck Plus but were still eligible for other existing tax credits).

Time period of study:

April 2016 to March 2018

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment

Other outcome domains examined:

Other benefits receipt and family economic self-sufficiency

Study funded by:

ACF, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Program group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 1	High	9,111.00	9,331.00	220.00	2016 dollars	3,972
Increase long-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 2	High	10,101.00	10,089.00	-12.00	2017 dollars	3,972
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, annual	Year 1	High	71.40	72.10	0.70	Percentage points	3,972
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, annual	Year 2	High	65.40	65.60	0.20	Percentage points	3,972

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.

Means are not displayed when not reported or not aligned with the impact estimates. For example, if the impact estimate is regression-adjusted but only unadjusted means are reported in the study, the unadjusted means are not displayed as they are not aligned with the adjusted impact estimate.

Impact estimates are not shown when the estimate units cannot be converted to natural units.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the program. 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 program, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the program 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

The sample included 3,972 people, of whom 61 percent identified as male, 60 percent were older than 35 at enrollment, and 86 percent identified as Black. Sixty percent of the people in the sample had a high school diploma or GED at the time of enrollment, and 14 percent did not have high school diploma or GED. Almost half of the people in the sample (46 percent) reported they were working at the time of enrollment, and 29 percent reported working full time. Forty-two percent of participants were noncustodial parents, and 28 percent of participants had previously been incarcerated.

Sex

Female	39%
Male	61%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	86%
White, not Hispanic	11%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	2%

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

Noncustodial parents

42%

Employment and public benefit status

Were employed	46%
Were unemployed	54%

Education

Had some postsecondary education	26%
Had a high school diploma or GED	60%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	40%
Postsecondary credential	13%

Specific employment barriers

Were involved with the justice system	29%
Were fomerly incarcerated	28%

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

MDRC and United Way of Greater Atlanta

Program history:

The program did not exist in Atlanta before implementation for this study. However, the same program (Paycheck Plus, including a bonus of up to $2,000 for low-income workers without dependent children) was also implemented and evaluated in New York City from 2014 to 2016.

Program services:

The program condition consisted of a tax credit, or bonus, worth up to $2,000 for workers with low incomes who did not have dependent children. All participants in the program group received the bonus, and half of the program group participants (1,000 participants, selected randomly) also received referrals to services via a call from a United Way counselor. These services included work and work-based learning services, work readiness activities, health services, financial education and literacy, support services (soup kitchens/food pantries and transitional housing), and training services. Paycheck Plus was a three-year program.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Participants in the comparison condition did not receive tax credits from the program but were eligible to receive any other existing tax credits.

Service receipt duration:

The program provided services (the tax credit or bonus) for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 (based on participants' earnings in the previous year—that is, 2016, 2017, and 2018).

Program funding:

ACF in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor, Ford Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, JPB Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Arnold Ventures, Kresge Foundation, and European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme LifePath Project

Study publications

Miller, Cynthia, Caroline Schultz, and Alexandra Bernardi (2015). Testing an expanded earned income tax credit for single adults: Year 1 of Paycheck Plus, MDRC Policy Brief, New York, NY: MDRC. Available at https://www.mdrc.org/publication/testing-expanded-earned-income-tax-credit-single-adults.

Miller, Cynthia, Lawrence F. Katz, Edith Yang, Alexandra Bernardi, Adam Isen, and Kali Aloisi (2020). A more generous earned income tax credit for singles: Interim findings from the Paycheck Plus Demonstration in Atlanta, OPRE Report 2020-28. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/more-generous-earned-income-tax-credit-singles-interim-findings-paycheck-plus.

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

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.

Study of Paycheck Plus—Atlanta