By Jonathan Morduch and Sidhya Balakrishnan, The Hill
This is a unique opportunity to imagine interventions that can best improve the situations faced by so many Americans facing financial insecurity. Understanding how different policies will address different needs is something we, along with a team of researchers from the Jain Family Institute, New York University and Princeton University (including Sewin Chan, Sara Constantino, Johannes Haushofer and ourselves) have been exploring. The details matter.
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The current confluence of events — uprisings against racialized police violence, a global pandemic, an unfolding economic crisis — have created a desire for change. With everything else that's going on, families shouldn't also lose sleep worrying over how to meet basic needs. Cash transfers won't solve society's problems, but, with the right design, a guaranteed minimum income can be part of solutions.