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American Economic Review Vol. 115 No. 9 2025

The Long-Term Effects of Income for At-Risk Infants: Evidence from Supplemental Security Income

Amelia Hawkins1; Christopher Hollrah2; Sarah Miller3; Laura Wherry4; Gloria Aldana5; Mitchell D. Wong6

1 Brandeis University (email: ) · 2 Federal Trade Commission (email: ) · 3 University of Michigan Ross School of Business and NBER (email: ) · 4 New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and NBER (email: ) · 5 US Census Bureau (email: ) · 6 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (email: )

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.

DOI
10.1257/aer.20231293
Volume
115
Issue
9
Pages
3081-3129
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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