Guaranteed Income Works: Data from Ithaca, NY
The Ithaca Guaranteed Income (IGI) pilot
The Ithaca Guaranteed Income (IGI) pilot was launched in 2022 by Mayor Svante Myrick. IGI focused on supporting unpaid caregivers, including parents with young children and those caring for an aging or disabled relative. Many participants were members of the "sandwich generation", caring for their children and aging parents simultaneously. Caught between the competing demands of paid work and unpaid care work, these individuals experience high levels of stress, illness, and early-onset health problems directly linked to the pressures of caregiving.
IGI provided $450 per month to 110 randomly selected unpaid caregivers and their families for one year. To qualify, applicants had to earn below 80% of the area’s median income. Recipients were selected by a randomization process, as was a control group of similar households. Independent researchers found increased financial stability and resilience, better mental and physical health, improved housing security, and higher rates of employment.
Key Takeaways
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Recipients increased their rate of full-time, part-time and seasonal employment, and at 12 months, they were significantly more likely to be employed full-time than the control group. The percentage of stay-at-home caregivers declined substantially among the recipient group, compared to the control group. This shift from full-time caregiving into employment was reflected in the qualitative data as well, with recipients reporting that guaranteed income helped them pursue employment that had previously been inaccessible to them, whether due to childcare costs or other structural barriers.
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Recipients demonstrated significantly less income volatility and reported higher mean incomes compared to the control group. Six months after payments stopped, the rate of income volatility among the control group was 1.3 times higher than the recipient group.
All participants faced a period of historically high inflation rates, which rapidly increased the price of basic necessities. Guaranteed income may have blunted this impact on recipients, who were more likely to be able to manage a $400 emergency than people in the control group. There was also a 13% increase in savings among the recipient group.
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Recipients demonstrated significantly better physical health outcomes at 12 months, suggesting that guaranteed income may have helped in managing chronic health conditions and engaging in health-promoting behaviors.
Both groups reported high stress levels, but the recipient group showed a lower rate over time, including after the pilot ended. The reduction in stress may have contributed to the improved health outcomes that recipients demonstrated. Parents in the recipient group also reported lower rates of parental stress during and after the pilot, compared to the control group.
The caregiver burden was relatively similar for both groups at the pilot’s outset, but the recipient group’s reported burden dropped from 42% at baseline to 34% at six months. The control group reported an increase in their caregiver burden during the same period.
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Recipients demonstrated greater housing stability throughout the study, dropping 10 percentage points from the baseline to six months after payments stopped. There was a small increase in home ownership and an overall shift into more stable housing amongst recipients, while the control group reported higher rates of utilizing rental assistance and living in public housing.
Household chaos appears to have decreased for people in the recipient group, suggesting better home environments.
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Recipients showed meaningful improvements in their sense of mattering and a sustained increase in high levels of hope.
IGI demonstrated that unconditional cash creates meaningful positive effects for unpaid caregivers. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of unpaid care work for many families, and exacerbated gender and racial disparities in the workplace as school and childcare closures forced caregivers to assume yet more responsibilities. At the time IGI launched in June 2022, the US was also experiencing historically high rates of inflation, making it even harder for families with children, aging kin, and family members with complex medical needs. Former Mayor Svante Myrick and Ithaca town leaders demonstrated leadership in creating IGI, which improved many important quality of life markers for caregivers receiving the unconditional cash.