By Rachel Treisman, National Public Radio, March 4, 2021
A high-profile universal basic income experiment in Stockton, Calif., which gave randomly selected residents $500 per month for two years with no strings attached, measurably improved participants' job prospects, financial stability and overall well-being, according to a newly released study of the program's first year.
The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, or SEED, was founded in February 2019 by then-Mayor Michael Tubbs and funded by donors, including the Economic Security Project.
It gave 125 people living in neighborhoods at or below Stockton's median household income the unconditional monthly stipend. A study of the period from February 2019 to February 2020, conducted by a team of independent researchers, determined that full-time employment rose among those who receivedthe guaranteed income and that theirfinancial, physical and emotional health improved.
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