òòò½Íø Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Long-Term Effects of Income for At-Risk Infants: Evidence from Supplemental Security Income
òòò½Íø Review
(pp. 3081–3129)
Abstract
The Supplemental Security Income program uses a birth weight cutoff at 1,200 grams to determine eligibility. Using birth certificates linked to administrative records, we find low-income families of infants born just below the cutoff receive higher monthly cash benefits (equal to 27 percent of family income) at ages 0–2 with smaller benefits continuing through age 10. Yet we detect no improvements in health care use and mortality in infancy, nor in health and human capital outcomes as observed through young adulthood for these infants. We also find no improvements for their older siblings.Citation
Hawkins, Amelia, Christopher Hollrah, Sarah Miller, Laura R. Wherry, Gloria Aldana, and Mitchell Wong. 2025. "The Long-Term Effects of Income for At-Risk Infants: Evidence from Supplemental Security Income." òòò½Íø Review 115 (9): 3081–3129. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20231293Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials