An ongoing pilot program in Minneapolis that gives $500 a month to 200 low-income households has improved food security, financial security, well-being, and psychological wellness among participants as compared to nonrecipients, said three researchers at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. “We do not find evidence that payments cause recipients to work less, a common concern about GBI (guaranteed basic income) programs,” they wrote.
At the end of one year, 48 percent of participating households said they were food-secure, a 21-point improvement. Fewer nonrecipient households — 32 percent — said they were food-secure. Participants also reported large improvements in financial well-being and psychological wellness. The two-year Minneapolis Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot began in June 2022. The payments boost recipient incomes by about one-third.
“One year in, GBI is creating measurable improvements in people’s lives,” wrote researchers Andrew Goodman-Bacon, Vanessa Palmer, and Ryan Nunn.
Minneapolis was among more than 100 localities “testing what happens when low-income people are simply provided with income, no string attached,” they said. “The story emerging from our Minneapolis study matches the few available findings from other GBI pilots quite closely. The most well-known basic income pilot—and one of the few others with public results—is from Stockton, California. The analysis of that program found improvements in psychological well-being nearly identical to our findings, and no reductions in employment.”