“If the government wants poor children to thrive, it should give their parents money.”

That simple idea, the New York Times reported, has fueled a national push to provide low‑income families with regular, no‑strings‑attached payments. Alas, new economic research suggests alleviating poverty might not be so simple.

A “rigorous new experiment” recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that years of monthly cash payments had no effect on children’s well‑being — an outcome contrary to what researchers had expected. 

“I was very surprised — we were all very surprised,” said Greg J. Duncan, an economist at the University of California, Irvine, and one of six economists involved in the experiment.

The study, known as Baby’s First Years, was conducted over four years. Recruitment ran from May 2018 to June 2019 and involved 1,000 poor mothers, most unmarried. The families, from the Twin Cities, New York City, New Orleans, and greater Omaha, were given $333 a month. Data was collected at birth and again when the children reached 12, 24, 36, and 48 months old.

Researchers said the findings were unequivocal.

“The money did not make a difference,” Duncan, the study’s leader, told the outlet.

The findings are relevant as........

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