The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation

David Westlake; Sally Holland; Michael Sanders; Elizabeth Schroeder; Kate E. Pickett; Matthew Johnson; Stavros Petrou; Rod Hick; Louise Roberts; Guillermo  Rodriguez-Guzman; Dimitris Vallis; Patrick Fahr; Zoe Bezeczky; Vibhor Mathur

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0303837

The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation

David Westlake^*, Sally Holland, Michael Sanders, Elizabeth Schroeder, Kate E. Pickett, Matthew Johnson, Stavros Petrou, Rod Hick, Louise Roberts, Guillermo Rodriguez-Guzman, Dimitris Vallis, Patrick Fahr, Zoe Bezeczky, Vibhor Mathur

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Communities and Education

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

70 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background
This study will evaluate the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot (BIP), which is the most generous basic income scheme in the world. A cohort of care-experienced young people who become aged 18 during a 12-month enrolment period (July 2022-June 2023) are receiving £1,600 (before tax) per month for two years, and the Welsh Government intends this to have a range of benefits. This evaluation will examine the impact of BIP, the implementation of the pilot and how it is experienced, and its value for money.

Methods
The study is a theory-based quasi-experimental evaluation, and the design and methods are informed by ongoing co-production with care-experienced young people. We will estimate the impact of BIP on participants using self-reported survey data and routinely collected administrative data. This will include outcomes across a range of domains, including psychological wellbeing, physical and mental health, financial impact, education, training and volunteering. Comparisons between temporal (Welsh) and geographical (English, using administrative data) controls will be done using coarsened exact matching and difference in differences analysis. The process evaluation will examine how BIP is implemented and experienced, primarily through monitoring data (quantitative) and interview, observational, and focus group data (qualitative). The economic evaluation will take a public sector and a societal perspective to identify, measure and value the costs and outcomes of BIP, and to synthesise the evidence to inform a social cost-benefit analysis at 24 months post-intervention.

Discussion
BIP is unusual in that it targets a wide range of outcomes and is available to an entire national cohort of participants. The evaluation also has several practical constraints. Therefore, the study will use a range of methods and triangulate between different analyses to assess how successful it is. Findings will inform policy in relation to care leavers, social security and basic income studies worldwide.

Original language	English
Article number	e0303837
Number of pages	23
Journal	PLoS One
Volume	19
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303837
Publication status	Published - 18 Oct 2024

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 1 No Poverty
SDG 2 Zero Hunger
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 4 Quality Education
SDG 5 Gender Equality
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Care leavers
basic income
cash transfers
inequalities
social security

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion keywords

Reduced Inequalities

Access to Document

10.1371/journal.pone.0303837Licence: CC BY

WBIP_Study_Protocol_V3_Welsh_Goverment_Comments_26-05-2023Accepted author manuscript, 684 KBLicence: CC BY
journal.pone.0303837Final published version, 1.21 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Westlake, D., Holland, S., Sanders, M., Schroeder, E., Pickett, K. E., Johnson, M., Petrou, S., Hick, R., Roberts, L., Rodriguez-Guzman, G., Vallis, D., Fahr, P., Bezeczky, Z., & Mathur, V. (2024). The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation. PLoS One, 19(10), Article e0303837. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303837

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abstract = "Background This study will evaluate the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot (BIP), which is the most generous basic income scheme in the world. A cohort of care-experienced young people who become aged 18 during a 12-month enrolment period (July 2022-June 2023) are receiving £1,600 (before tax) per month for two years, and the Welsh Government intends this to have a range of benefits. This evaluation will examine the impact of BIP, the implementation of the pilot and how it is experienced, and its value for money. Methods The study is a theory-based quasi-experimental evaluation, and the design and methods are informed by ongoing co-production with care-experienced young people. We will estimate the impact of BIP on participants using self-reported survey data and routinely collected administrative data. This will include outcomes across a range of domains, including psychological wellbeing, physical and mental health, financial impact, education, training and volunteering. Comparisons between temporal (Welsh) and geographical (English, using administrative data) controls will be done using coarsened exact matching and difference in differences analysis. The process evaluation will examine how BIP is implemented and experienced, primarily through monitoring data (quantitative) and interview, observational, and focus group data (qualitative). The economic evaluation will take a public sector and a societal perspective to identify, measure and value the costs and outcomes of BIP, and to synthesise the evidence to inform a social cost-benefit analysis at 24 months post-intervention. Discussion BIP is unusual in that it targets a wide range of outcomes and is available to an entire national cohort of participants. The evaluation also has several practical constraints. Therefore, the study will use a range of methods and triangulate between different analyses to assess how successful it is. Findings will inform policy in relation to care leavers, social security and basic income studies worldwide.",

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AU - Schroeder, Elizabeth

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AU - Johnson, Matthew

AU - Petrou, Stavros

AU - Hick, Rod

AU - Roberts, Louise

AU - Rodriguez-Guzman, Guillermo

AU - Vallis, Dimitris

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AU - Bezeczky, Zoe

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AB - Background This study will evaluate the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot (BIP), which is the most generous basic income scheme in the world. A cohort of care-experienced young people who become aged 18 during a 12-month enrolment period (July 2022-June 2023) are receiving £1,600 (before tax) per month for two years, and the Welsh Government intends this to have a range of benefits. This evaluation will examine the impact of BIP, the implementation of the pilot and how it is experienced, and its value for money. Methods The study is a theory-based quasi-experimental evaluation, and the design and methods are informed by ongoing co-production with care-experienced young people. We will estimate the impact of BIP on participants using self-reported survey data and routinely collected administrative data. This will include outcomes across a range of domains, including psychological wellbeing, physical and mental health, financial impact, education, training and volunteering. Comparisons between temporal (Welsh) and geographical (English, using administrative data) controls will be done using coarsened exact matching and difference in differences analysis. The process evaluation will examine how BIP is implemented and experienced, primarily through monitoring data (quantitative) and interview, observational, and focus group data (qualitative). The economic evaluation will take a public sector and a societal perspective to identify, measure and value the costs and outcomes of BIP, and to synthesise the evidence to inform a social cost-benefit analysis at 24 months post-intervention. Discussion BIP is unusual in that it targets a wide range of outcomes and is available to an entire national cohort of participants. The evaluation also has several practical constraints. Therefore, the study will use a range of methods and triangulate between different analyses to assess how successful it is. Findings will inform policy in relation to care leavers, social security and basic income studies worldwide.

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ER -

The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Innovative and ambitious or unrealistic and risky? Initial professional perspectives on the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot

Designing a generic, adaptive protocol resource for the measurement of health impact in cash transfer pilot and feasibility studies and trials in high-income countries

Basic Income: changing policy, designing trials, evaluating impact

Cite this

The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Research output

Innovative and ambitious or unrealistic and risky? Initial professional perspectives on the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot

Designing a generic, adaptive protocol resource for the measurement of health impact in cash transfer pilot and feasibility studies and trials in high-income countries

Impacts

Basic Income: changing policy, designing trials, evaluating impact

Cite this