Guaranteed Income
Cash as Policy
To improve their quality of life, people need adequate financial resources—and the freedom to determine how best to use them. Governments and community-based organizations are experimenting with providing program participants with recurring cash payments as a guaranteed income. The goal is to overcome systemic inequalities, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the more precarious nature of modern work—which includes the threat of automation and artificial intelligence replacing many jobs—or simply to provide more direct, effective support. Through evaluation partnerships and thought leadership, Abt is helping to build the evidence base on guaranteed income and its potential role in safety net policies. Our approach combines a commitment to person-centered and equitable work with our expertise on existing social programs and a wide range of mixed methods evaluation techniques. As a result, foundations, nonprofits, cities, states, and the federal government have learned to count on us to make a difference.