Enhanced unemployment benefits, mental health, and substance use among low-income households during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To buffer the economic impacts of the pandemic-induced economic downturns, the U.S. government passed major economic stimulus bills that provided cash payments to affected citizens and a large boost to unemployment benefits. We ask what impact these enhanced safety-net policies have had on mental health and stress-induced substance use among low-income Americans, especially enhanced unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, which constituted a large economic transfer to those eligible.

Methods

Using individual fixed effects analysis of a panel of nearly 900 low-income Americans since the start of the pandemic from the Understanding America Survey, we examine how receipt of enhanced unemployment benefits has impacted the mental health burden and substance use behavio

SUBMITTER:  

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10205648 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature