{"insight":{"id":"116396594","lede":"Temptation goods are the likes of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. These results hold across 28 separate studies spanning three continents. Only one study found a rise in temptation good spending associated with cash transfers, and the magnitude was small.","slug":"almost-without-exception-studies-find-either-no-significant-impact-or-a-significa","title":"Almost without exception, studies find either no significant impact or a significant negative impact of transfers on temptation goods.","showTitleAsQuote":true,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"}],"tags":[{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

We define stability as the resiliency, robustness, and constancy of our nested social, financial, and environmental systems. Stability is the degree to which our systems can withstand stress and maintain their functionality over time.

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Why do we need stability? All else equal, a stable society is preferable to an unstable society. Stability - the product of the harmonious interaction between parts, or interwoven systems - protects against uncertainty and decay. For example, a healthy body regulates its blood glucose levels to provide cells with their required energy. Too much glucose makes cells sticky, with a paralyzing effect. Too little glucose starves them. What's important is the constancy of glucose regulation within functional limits, and the resiliency to maintain this regulation amidst adversity.

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Instability occurs when systems transgress functional limits, causing the breakdown of other systems and suffering for those who depend on them. When interlocking systems remain stable, they provide a fertile foundation for positive expectations that fuel investments in progress and broad cooperation throughout society.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define stability as the resiliency, robustness, and constancy of our nested social, financial, and environmental systems. Stability is the degree to which our systems can withstand stress and maintain their functionality over time. \n\nWhy do we need stability? All else equal, a stable society is preferable to an unstable society. Stability - the product of the harmonious interaction between parts, or interwoven systems - protects against uncertainty and decay. For example, a healthy body regulates its blood glucose levels to provide cells with their required energy. Too much glucose makes cells sticky, with a paralyzing effect. Too little glucose starves them. What's important is the constancy of glucose regulation within functional limits, and the resiliency to maintain this regulation amidst adversity.\n\nInstability occurs when systems transgress functional limits, causing the breakdown of other systems and suffering for those who depend on them. When interlocking systems remain stable, they provide a fertile foundation for positive expectations that fuel investments in progress and broad cooperation throughout society.","featured":true},{"slug":"universalism","name":"Universalism","id":"101707811","lede":"

One of the defining conflicts of economic discourse today is the debate over whether government programs should be 'targeted' to particular demographics - such as stimulus payments only going to those who earn less than $75,000 per year - or if they should be 'universal', provided to all citizens (and taxed to adjust distribution afterwards).

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Universal programs boast the virtue of simplicity, while carrying the burden of size. Universal programs require far less bureaucracy, since no determination of who is eligible for payments is required. Advocates suggest that society can still tailor the distributional effects of universal programs by taxing 'on the backend'. But universal programs thus carry significantly higher gross costs, and require greater disbursement of public funds up front.

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Targeted programs effectively 'tax on the frontend', adjusting the distribution of a program before giving it out. Thus, they have smaller price tags, but require more complex infrastructure to keep track of eligibility and adjust accordingly.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"One of the defining conflicts of economic discourse today is the debate over whether government programs should be 'targeted' to particular demographics - such as stimulus payments only going to those who earn less than $75,000 per year - or if they should be 'universal', provided to all citizens.\n\nUniversal programs boast the virtue of simplicity, while carrying the burden of size. Universal programs require far less bureaucracy, since no determination of who is eligible for payments is required. Advocates suggest that society can still tailor the distributional effects of universal programs by taxing 'on the backend'. But universal programs thus carry significantly higher gross costs, and require greater disbursement of public funds up front.\n\nTargeted programs effectively 'tax on the frontend', adjusting the distribution of a program before giving it out. Thus, they have smaller price tags, but require more complex infrastructure to keep track of eligibility and adjust accordingly.","featured":true},{"slug":"health","name":"Health","id":"101706852","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"consumption","name":"Consumption","id":"23933659","lede":"

In economics, consumption is the use of resources to satisfy current needs and wants. This is in contrast to spending resources for future income, known as investing.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"In economics, consumption is the use of resources to satisfy current needs and wants. This is in contrast to spending resources for future income, known as investing.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"116396580","lede":"One concern over giving individuals unconditional cash is that they may squander the money on \"temptation goods\" like drugs, tobacco, or alcohol. This paper reviews 19 quantitative studies and 11 more survey studies, spanning Latin America, Africa, and Asia. They find no rise in temptation good spending associated with cash transfers.","link":"https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/617631468001808739/pdf/WPS6886.pdf","slug":"cash-transfers-and-temptation-goods","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Cash Transfers and Temptation Goods","year":"2014-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"116396576","location":"World Bank","name":"David K. Evans","seoDescription":"","slug":"david-k-evans"},{"id":"116396577","location":"World Bank","name":"Anna Popova","seoDescription":"","slug":"anna-popova"}]}]}}