Los Angeles Times

Column: Stockton study shows that universal basic income can be life-changing

The concept of universal basic income, which has received a boost from economic conditions during the pandemic, has just received another favorable vote. This one comes from a study of a two-year guaranteed income project in Stockton, which delivered monthly no-strings-attached checks of $500 to 125 mostly low-income residents.

A preliminary analysis of the first year of the program found that recipients were “healthier, showing less depression and anxiety and enhanced well-being” than those in a control group not receiving the stipends.

Stacia West conducted the analysis with Amy Castro Baker of the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. They’re working on a second-year analysis, due in September, that will bring their study to the end of the program, known as the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, or SEED.

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