Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment

The Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment was a research project conducted in the 1970s aimed at understanding the effects of providing guaranteed income on people's behavior. Families in Seattle and Denver received cash payments without needing to work or meet conditions, allowing researchers to observe how this support impacted employment, spending, and overall wellbeing. This experiment sought to inform policies related to social welfare and poverty alleviation by examining whether financial safety nets encourage people to pursue education or better jobs, or if they reduce the motivation to work.