Published Papers​​

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Duncan, G. J., Magnuson, K. A., Kunin-Batson,  A. S., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N., Halpern-Meekin, S., Ainsworth, N. J., Black, S. R., Nelson, J. M., Nelson, T. D., Georgieff, M. K., Karhson, D., Gennetian, L. A., & Noble, K. G (2025). Cash Transfers and Their Effect on Maternal and Young Children’s Health: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr.  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834896 [PDF]. 

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See Editor's Note on Duncan et al 2025 by Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis: Christakis, D, A. (2025). There Are No Sacred Deer in Science. JAMA Pediatr. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834901 [PDF]

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See Editorial on Duncan et al 2025 by Margaret McConnell and Margaret G. Parker: McConnell, M & Parker, M. G. (2025) Income and Maternal/Child Health—The Baby’s First Years Trial. JAMA Pediatr. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834902 [PDF]

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Costanzo, M. A., Magnuson, K. A., Duncan, G. J., Fox, N., Gennetian, L. A., Halpern-Meekin, S., Noble, K. G & Yoshikawa, H. A. (2025). Research Note on Unconditional Cash Transfers and Fertility in the United States: New Causal Evidence. Demography. https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-11872728 [PDF]

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​​​​Hart, E. R., Gennetian, L. A., Sperber, J. F., Penalva, R., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G. J., ... & Noble, K. G. (2024). The effect of unconditional cash transfers on maternal assessments of children’s early language and socioemotional development: Experimental evidence from US families residing in poverty. Developmental Psychology, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-16928-001 [PDF].

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Das, A.,  Osypuk,. T. L., Yoo, P. Y., Magnuson, K., Gennetian, L. A., Noble, K. G., Bruckner, T. A. Poverty reduction and childhood opportunity moves: A randomized trial of cash transfers to low-income U.S. families with infants, Health & Place, Volume 89, 2024, 103320, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103320[PDF].

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Sauval, M., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Magnuson, K. A., Fox, N. A., Noble, K. G., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). Unconditional cash transfers and maternal employment: Evidence from the Baby’s First Years study. Journal of Public Economics, 236, 105159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105159 [PDF]

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Egan-Dailey, S., Gennetian, L. A., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N., & Noble, K. (2024). Child-directed speech in a large sample of U.S. mothers with low income. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14139 [PDF]. 

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Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G., Fox, N., Halpern-Meekin, S., Magnuson, K., Noble, K. G., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). Effects of a monthly unconditional cash transfer starting at birth on family investments among US families with low income. Nature Human Behaviour. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38907028/ [PDF]

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Stilwell, L., Morales-Gracia, M., Magnuson, K., Gennetian, L. A., Sauval, M., Fox, N. A., ... & Noble, K. G. (2024). Unconditional

Cash and Breastfeeding, Child Care, and Maternal Employment among Families with Young Children Residing in

Poverty. Social Service Review, 98(2), 000-000. https:///doi/10.1086/729364 [PDF]

  

Adams, E. A., Scott, M. E., Amarante, E., Ramirez, C. A., Rowley, S. J., Noble, K. G.,  & Troller-Renfree, S. V. (2024). Fostering inclusion in EEG measures of pediatric brain activity. npj Science of Learning, 9, 27. PMCID: 38565857.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-024-00240-y [PDF]

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Halpern-Meekin, S., Gennetian, L. A., Hoiting, J., Stilwell, L., & Meyer, L. (2024). Monthly unconditional income supplements starting at birth: Experiences among mothers of young children with low incomes in the U.S.. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22571 [PDF]​

 

Troller-Renfree, S. V., Sperber, J. F., Hart, E. R., Costanzo, M. A., Gennetian, L. A., Meyer, J. S., Fox, N. A., & Noble, K. G. (2023). Associations between maternal stress and infant resting brain activity among families residing in poverty in the U.S. Biological Psychology, 184, 108683. NIHMS1940081.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108683 [PDF]

 

Costanzo, M. A., Magnuson, K. A., Gennetian, L. A., Halpern-Meekin, S., Noble, K. G., & Yoshikawa, H. (2023). Contraception use and satisfaction among mothers with low-income: Evidence from the baby’s first years study. Contraception, 110297. PMCID: 37806470. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2023.110297 [PDF]

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Sperber, J. F., Gennetian, L. A., Hart, E. R., Kunin-Batson, A., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G. J., ... & Noble, K. G. (2023). Unconditional Cash Transfers and Maternal Assessments of Children's Health, Nutrition, and Sleep: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(9), PMCID: PMC10543132. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35237 [PDF]. For additional commentary, see The Impact of Poverty Reduction on Child Health, Nutrition, and Sleep in the United States | The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

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Premo, E., Magnuson, K., Lorenzo, N., Fox, N., & Noble, K.G. (2023). Mental health and sleep quality of low-income mothers of one-year-olds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Infant Mental Health Journal. PubMed deposit in process. PMCID: PMC10403317 Available at Wiley Online Library: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/imhj.22074 [PDF]

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Gennetian, L. A., S. Halpern-Meekin, L. Meyer, N. Fox, K. Magnuson, K. G. Noble, H. Yoshikawa (2023). Cash to U.S. families at scale: Behavioral insights on implementation from the Baby's First Years Study. In D. Soman, J. Zhao, and S. Datta (Eds.), Using Cash Transfers to Build an Inclusive Society: A Behaviorally Informed Approach. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Available at: https://www.biorgpartnership.com/books  [PDF]. For a two minute video clip, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbPuz8JU2uc&list=PLG8y1Bk481eknlWkwSffbhIgPtXff7ESn&index=3

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Troller-Renfree, S., Hart, E., Sperber, J., Fox, N., & Noble, K.G. (2022). Associations among stress and language and socioemotional development in a low-income sample. Development and Psychopathology, 1-9. 2022 May;34(2):597-605. Epub 2022 Mar 8. PMID: 35256040; PMCID: PMC9452599. doi:10.1017/S0954579421001759 [PDF] 

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Troller-Renfree, S.V., Costanzo, M.A., Duncan, G.J., Magnuson, K. A., Gennetian, L. A., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N.A., Halpern-Meekin, S, and Noble, K.G. (2022). The impact of a poverty reduction intervention on infant brain activity. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences U S A. 2022 Feb 1;119(5):e2115649119. PMID: 35074878; PMCID: PMC8812534. doi:10.1073/pnas.2115649119 [PDF]

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Yoo, P.Y., Duncan, G.J., Magnuson, K., Fox, N. A., Yoshikawa, H., Halpern‑Meekin, S., & Noble, K.G. (2022). Unconditional cash transfers and maternal substance use: findings from a randomized control trial of low-income mothers with infants in the U.S. BMC Public Health. 2022 May 5;22(1):897. PMID: 35513842; PMCID: PMC9070980.

doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12989-1 [PDF]​​

 

Troller-Renfree, S.V., Morales, S., Leach, S.C., Bowers, M.E., Debnath, R., Fifer, W.P., Fox, N.A., & Noble, K.G. (2021). Feasibility of Assessing Brain Activity using Mobile, In-home Collection of Electroencephalography: Theory, Methods, and Analysis. Developmental Psychobiology ​2021 Sep;63(6): e22128. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34087950; PMCID: PMC8478406. doi:10.1002/dev.22128 [PDF]

 

Noble, K.G., Magnuson, K.A., Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G.J., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N.A., Halpern-Meekin, S. (2021). Baby’s First Years: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in the United States. Pediatrics. 2021 Oct;148(4): e2020049702. Epub 2021 Sep 2. PMID: 34475270; PMCID: PMC8487960. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-049702 [PDF]

 

Rojas, N.M., Yoshikawa, H., Gennetian, L. A., Rangel,M.L., Melvin, S., Noble, K.G., Duncan, G., Magunson, K. (2020) Exploring the experiences and dynamics of an unconditional cash transfer for low-income mothers: A mixed-methods study, Journal of Children and Poverty. doi:10.1080/10796126.2019.1704161 [PDF] 

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Working Papers and Preprints​​​​​​

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Shah, H., Gennetian, L. A., Magnuson, K., Yoshikawa, H., Stilwell, L., Noble, K. G. and Duncan, G. (May 2025). Money or Time? Heterogeneous Effects of Unconditional Cash on Parental Investments. Available at NBER: https://www.nber.org/papers/w33737.  Click here to read the Research Brief.

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Escueta, M., Gennetian, L. A., Magnuson, K., Halpern-Meekin, S., Noble, K. G., and Yoshikawa, H. (February 23, 2025). Unconditional Cash and Intimate Partner Violence. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5150249 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5150249

 

Noble, K. G., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Yoshikawa, H., Fox, N., Halpern-Meekin, S., Troller-Renfree, S.V., Han, S., Egan-Dailey, S., Nelson, T., Nelson, J.M., Black, S., Georgieff, M., and Karhson, D. (2024, December 19). The Effect of a Monthly Unconditional Cash Transfer on Children’s Development at Four Years of Age: A Randomized Controlled Trial in the U.S. View at: osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/udbt9

 

Troller-Renfree, S. V., Costanzo, M. A., Duncan, G. J., Magnuson, K., Gennetian, L. A., Yoshikawa, H., Black, S., Karhson, D., Georgieff, M, Nelson, J.M., Nelson, T., Fox, N., and Noble, K. G. (2024, December 19). The impact of a monthly unconditional cash transfer on child brain activity:  A 4-year follow-up. View at: osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/dw2em

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Egan-Dailey, S., Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G., Fox, N., Magnuson, K., Noble, K., Yoshikawa, H. (August 2024). Effects on Maternal Bandwidth of Monthly Unconditional Cash Starting at Birth Among U.S. Families with Low Income. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4940902

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Magnuson, K., Duncan, G., Yoshikawa, H., Yoo, P. Y,  Han, S., Gennetian, L. A., Fox, N., Halpern-Meekin, S., and Noble, K. G. (2024). Can Cash Transfers Improve Maternal Well-being and Family Processes among Families with Young Children? An Experimental Analysis. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4955765 [PDF]. 

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Gennetian, L. A., Maury, M., Stilwell, L., Shah, H., Magnuson, K., Noble, K., ... & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). The Impact of Monthly Unconditional Cash on Food Security, Spending, and Consumption: Three Year Follow-Up Findings from the Baby's First Years Study. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4781670 [PDF]

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Gennetian, L. A., Duncan, G., Fox, N. A., Magnuson, K., Halpern-Meekin, S., Noble, K. G., & Yoshikawa, H. (2022). Unconditional cash and family investments in infants: Evidence from a large-scale cash transfer experiment in the US (No. w30379). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w30379  [PDF]

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                                                                                Policy Briefs

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Regular, Monthly Unconditional Cash Gift Increases Families' Time and Money on Children from Infancy through Age 4 Research Brief (March 2025)

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​Regular, Monthly Cash Gifts in the Baby’s First Years Study: Program Design and Families’ Experiences Research Brief (August 2024)

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Regular, Monthly Unconditional Cash Gift Increases Families’ Investments in Young Children Research Brief (June 2024)

 

Impact of Monthly Unconditional Cash on Food Security, Spending, and Consumption Research Brief (April 2024)

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The Impact of Monthly Unconditional Cash on Food Security, Spending, and Consumption: Three Year Follow-Up Findings from the Baby's First Years Study Working Paper (April 2024)​

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Qualitative Study: Publications​

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Landrum, G. & Halpern-Meekin, S. (2025). "I try not to let my kids see it": Mothering and Emotion management. Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fare.13187 [PDF]

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Landrum, G., Halpern-Meekin, S., & McDonald, M. D. (2025). "I don't try to seek him out": Views of child support over time. Journal of Marriage and Family. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.13099 [PDF]​​

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Barnes, C. Y., Halpern-Meekin, S., & Hoiting, J. (2024). “They need more programs for the kids:” Low-income mothers' views of government amidst economic precarity and burdensome programs. International Journal of Social Welfare, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12641 [PDF]

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Barnes, C., Halpern-Meekin, S., & Hoiting, J. (2023). "I used to get WIC ... but then I stopped": How WIC participants perceive the value and burdens of maintaining benefits. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 9 (5) 32-55. PMCID: 38486832. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.02 [PDF]

 

Collins, J. M., Halpern-Meekin, S., Harvey, M., & Hoiting, J. (2023). “ If I don't have credit, I don't have anything”: Perspectives on the credit scoring system among mothers with low incomes. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 57(4), 1605–1622. PMCID: 38214004. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12561 [PDF] 

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Collins, JM, Halpern-Meekin S, Harvey M, Hoiting J. "I Don't Like All Those Fees" Pragmatism About Financial Services Among Low-Income Parents. J Fam Econ Issues. 2022 Nov 5:1-14. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36373018; PMCID: PMC9638425. Available at Springer Link: doi: 10.1007/s10834-022-09873-w [PDF]​

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Blogs and Podcasts​

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Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research: Baby’s First Years mothers' experiences. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, blog (5 November 2021).  https://www.povertyactionlab.org/blog/11-5-21/strengthening-randomized-evaluations-qualitative-research-part-5-babys-first-years

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Strengthening randomized evaluations with qualitative research: Baby’s First Years household measurement. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, blog (18 February 2022). https://www.povertyactionlab.org/blog/2-18-22/strengthening-randomized-evaluations-qualitative-research-babys-first-years-household​

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Centering parents and parenting in randomized evaluations of cash transfers to families. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, blog (15 March 2024). https://www.povertyactionlab.org/blog/3-15-24/centering-parents-and-parenting-randomized-evaluations-cash-transfers-families

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Grocery and meal insight from the Baby's First Years project. World Food Policy Center, Duke University: The Leading Voices in Food (28 March 2024). https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/podcasts/grocery-and-meal-insight-from-the-babys-first-years-project/

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