Volume 15, Number 4 (Fall) 1980
West, Richard W. 1980. "The Effects on the Labor Supply of Young Nonheads." Journal of Human Resources 15(4):574-590.
This study examines the effects of the Seattle and Denver Income Maintenance Experiments (SIME/DIME) on the work effort of persons whose age is over 16 and under 21 at enrollment in the experiment and who are children, stepchildren, and grandchildren of heads of their families at enrollment. The results indicate that the experimental negative income tax (NIT) plans in SIME/DIME induce a reduction in work effort among non-heads. There is no evidence that the work-effort reduction is accompanied by an increase in school attendance. However, somewhat less than half the response appears to occur among persons who, in the absence of the experiment, would have worked while attending school, but attend school and do not work under the influence of the experiment.
The author is an economist with SRI International. The research reported herein was performed pursuant to contracts with the States of Washington and Colorado, prime contractors for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under contract numbers HEW-100-78-0005 and HEW-100-78-0004, respectively. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policies of the States of Washington or Colorado or any agency of the United States government. The assistance of Richard C. Williams is gratefully acknowledged.
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