A sociological investigation has estimated the effects of Alaska's universal cash transfer program on newborn health outcomes using data spanning 28 years. The study revealed that while a cash payment during pregnancy had minimal impact on birthweight, it may provide other significant benefits for birthing people and families, such as reducing financial strain or supporting reproductive autonomy. The study, "Estimating the Effect of a Universal Cash Transfer on Birth Outcomes," is published in the American Sociological Review .
The work was conducted by Kiara Wyndham-Douds, assistant professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Sarah Cowan, associate professor of sociology at New York University. Their research explored the potential benefits of cash transfers during pregnancy using data from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) from the years 1982-2010.
The PFD program provides a yearly cash payment to all Alaska residents regardless of their financial status. Therefore, researchers had a unique opportunity to explore with more accuracy than ever before how increased financial resources might affect birth outcomes. Using the PFD data allowed the sociologists to examine the impacts of cash infusions unrelated to personal wages or individuals' eligibility for social safety net programs.
Although the population used for this study may not be generalizable to the broader U.S. population, researchers noted that any type of cash payment has the potential to .
