Mary-Alice Doyle, London School of Economics - Does welfare conditionality improve community-level outcomes?

Title: Does welfare conditionality improve community-level outcomes? Evidence from Australia's cashless welfare trial

Abstract: Over the past 15 years, Australia has introduced a series of place-based policies that limit welfare recipients' choices over how they spend their money. The Cashless Debit Card trials are the most recent of these policies, quarantining 80 percent of recipients' welfare income. Quarantined funds are designated to be spent on essentials. They cannot be withdrawn as cash, and cannot be spent on gambling services or alcohol.

In late 2022, parliament will vote on whether to make these current trials permanent. However, to date there is little robust evidence on whether the policy achieves its goals of improving community safety, reducing substance abuse, and helping welfare recipients to transition into employment. In this paper, I analyse the policy's impact on those goals. I collate community-level data from a range of sources and use synthetic control methods, focusing on the largest and most recent trial site (Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, QLD).

Presenter: Mary-Alice Doyle, London School of Economics

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