TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Dorsett, Richard
AU  - Oswald, Andrew J.
        TI  - Human Well-being and In-Work Benefits: A Randomized Controlled Trial
        PY  - 2014/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 7943
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp7943
        AB  - Many politicians believe they can intervene in the economy to improve people's lives. But can they? In a social experiment carried out in the United Kingdom, extensive in-work support was randomly assigned among 16,000 disadvantaged people. We follow a sub-sample of 3,500 single parents for 5 ensuing years. The results reveal a remarkable, and troubling, finding. Long after eligibility had ceased, the treated individuals had substantially lower psychological well-being, worried more about money, and were increasingly prone to debt. Thus helping people apparently hurt them. We discuss a behavioral framework consistent with our findings and reflect on implications for policy.
        KW  - randomized controlled trials
KW  - government policy
KW  - in-work benefits
KW  - wage subsidies
KW  - well-being
KW  - happiness
        ER  -