Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration

The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) is the country’s first city-led guaranteed income (GI) pilot. It is a collaboration between the Office of Mayor Michael Tubbs, the Economic Security Project (ESP), and the residents of Stockton. In 2019, SEED will begin providing at least 100 Stocktonians with a GI of 500 USD per month for 18 months. The income will be distributed monthly through prepaid debit cards that will be issued in each recipient’s name. Since the income is “guaranteed,” there are no work requirements or restrictions on how the money can be spent.

2019-02-15

2020-08-14

The overall aim of this research is to determine the effect of treatment (GI) on the the primary outcomes. These include changes in financial well-being, psychological distress, and physical functioning.

We hypothesize that the intervention will produce detectable reductions in income volatility and unsecured debt. Income volatility data will be measured monthly through self-reporting and calculated by the coefficient of variation, similar to the method used by the U.S. Financial Diaries study. To determine the coefficient of variation, we will divide the standard deviation of monthly income by the mean of monthly income (Morduch ll & Siwicki, 2017). Monthly income volatility will be measured at nine observation points across the study using retrospective questioning in the online survey to produce 24 data points. Income volatility data will also be triangulated through text-based responses at key time points. Use of the coefficient of variation will allow for comparisons of volatility of both higher and lower income households. In the literature on low income households, the coefficient of variation for income volatility typically ranges from .31 to .41, with a mean of .36 and standard deviation of .50.
We chose debt reduction due to descriptive evidence suggesting that when provided a cash transfer in the form of a one-time lump amount such as the EITC, a matched savings disbursement, or the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, individuals use that money to pay down debt (Harstad, 2017; Shaefer, Song, ll & Shanks, 2013; Halpern-Meekin, Edin, Tach, ll & Sykes, 2015). Debt reduction will be measured through selected questions from the Survey of Consumer Finances (2016) related to unsecured debt, including debt from credit cards, education loans, and medical bills.
The health indicators of physical functioning and psychological distress will be collected quantitatively via the SF-36 and the Kessler 10 (RAND Corporation, 2018; Kessler, et al., 2002) within a longitudinal survey and through in-depth qualitative interviews. This outcome was chosen because of empirical evidence that involuntary job loss, inadequate or insecure employment, and other proxies of income volatility are related to greater risk and severity of depressive symptoms (Catalano, et al., 2010; Rohde, Tang, Osber, ll & Rao, 2016) as well as qualitative evidence indicating some association of income volatility proxies to accounts of substantial anxiety (Morduch & Schneider, 2017; Halpern-Meekin, Edin, Tach, & Sykes, 2015).

While there is more limited theoretical or empirical evidence for these secondary outcomes, they were selected because of their importance in providing insight into the wellbeing of Stocktonians, their representation in the literature and potential for detectable effects. Time use will be measured by time spent on employment, care work, education, and community or civic engagement, and selected questions will be drawn from the American Time Use Survey (U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2011). Family dynamics and parenting will be measured via the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (Matheny, 1995). Food security will measured through the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (Coates, Swindale, & Bilinksy, 2007). Material hardship will be measured via selected questions from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP, 2008). Agency will be measured through the Hope Scale (Snyder et. al., 1991). Perceived stress and well-being will be measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamark, & Mermelstein,1994) and the Mattering Index (Elliot, Kao, ll & Grant, 2004). Additional secondary outcomes related to the use of public benefits, healthcare utilization, and interactions with the child welfare system will be assessed via administrative data collection in partnership with the Children’s Data Network at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Social Work.

The project relies on a randomized controlled trial with parallel mixed methods
design (QUAN + QUAL), containing quantitative and qualitative research
strands anchored by participatory action research (PAR), and informed by
evidence-based learning agendas (Teddlie Tashakkori, 2008; Urban Institute,
2018). Data from each strand will be integrated at the conclusion of the intervention
and will inform the dissemination strategy alongside the purposive
political sample (Miles Huberman, 1994; Teddlie Tashakkori, 2008).

Addressed based random sampling

Individual

No

1000 individuals

9

130 in treatment, 200 in active control, 670 in passive or administrative control