Westlake, David, Holland, Sally, Sanders, Michael et al. (12 more authors) (2024) The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation:Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation. PLOS ONE. e0303837. ISSN 1932-6203
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 Westlake et al. |
Keywords: | Humans,Wales,Pilot Projects,Income,Adolescent,Male,Female,Young Adult |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Social Policy and Social Work (York) The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Politics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 22 Oct 2024 09:30 |
Last Modified: | 18 Dec 2024 00:27 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303837 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0303837 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:218725 |