Unconditional Cash Study (OpenResearch Unconditional Income Study / ORUS)
OpenResearch (formerly YC Research, incubated by Sam Altman) ran the largest and most rigorous randomized controlled trial of unconditional cash in the U.S. to date, giving 1,000 low-income adults in Illinois (Chicago area) and Texas (Dallas area) $1,000 a month for three years, with 2,000 more receiving $50 a month as a control group. The study was privately funded (including by Sam Altman) and implemented with local partners Heartland Alliance (Illinois) and the University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab, with recruitment support in Texas. It ran from November 2020 through October 2023 and has produced dozens of peer-reviewed and working papers on employment, spending, health, parenting, and political attitudes.
Universal Basic Income, RCT, Sam Altman, OpenAI-adjacent, Largest US UBI study, Multi-state, Employment effects, NBER working papers
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- OpenResearch (Open Research Lab Inc.)
- City
- San Francisco
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 1,000
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 36,000 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,000 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 36 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct deposit to bank account
- Benefit details
Recipients (n=1,000) received $1,000/month unconditionally for 36 months (Nov 2020-Oct 2023), totaling $36,000 over the study period. A separate control/comparison group (n=2,000) received $50/month over the same period; this $50 group was a research control condition to account for participation and survey-completion effects, not an alternate benefit tier. Cash was unconditional, with no work requirements or spending restrictions. Group assignment was via randomization conducted in October 2020.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible participants were low-income adults ages 21-40 at enrollment, with household income below 300% of the federal poverty line, living in the study's designated Illinois or Texas counties (Cook County/Chicago and 9 additional IL counties; Dallas County/Dallas and 9 additional TX counties, including rural and suburban areas). Enrollment occurred in person and by phone between 2019 and 2020. Applications are now closed; the study is complete.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 21
- Maximum age
- 40
Financial
- Income as % of Federal Poverty Level
- 300 %
Geography
- US states covered
- Illinois, Texas
- Countries covered
- United States
- Cities covered
- Chicago, Dallas
- Counties covered
- Cook County IL, Dallas County TX, plus 9 additional counties in each state (urban, suburban, and rural)
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Participants were required to complete monthly surveys, periodic in-depth (enumerated) surveys, and some participated in multiple rounds of qualitative interviews and physical health measurement collection over the 3+ year study period, managed by OpenResearch with academic partners including the University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, Harvard Kennedy School, and University of Toronto. Findings have been published as NBER working papers and peer-reviewed articles covering employment (modest decrease in hours/employment, more selective job search), spending (+$310/month, mostly food/rent/transportation), health (increased healthcare utilization, especially dental/specialist care, and reduced problematic substance use, but no significant physical health biomarker changes), parenting (improved supervision/discipline, especially for lowest-income and single parents), entrepreneurship (higher rates among Black and female recipients), housing mobility, savings/financial health, and political/social attitudes (limited effects).
Application Process
- How to apply
Enrollment is closed. Original enrollment (2019-2020) occurred via in-person outreach events and telephone screening conducted by OpenResearch and local implementation partners in designated Illinois and Texas counties.
- Selection process
Eligible applicants were randomly assigned via lottery/randomization (conducted October 2020) to either the $1,000/month recipient group (1,000 people) or the $50/month control group (2,000 people), stratified to ensure comparability between groups.
