Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
07:12
Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging
Published on: January 24, 2025
Who benefits from child benefit?
Laura Blow1, Ian Walker, Yu Zhu
1Institute for Fiscal Studies, London.
Economic Inquiry
|February 15, 2012
Summary
Government child benefits are surprisingly spent on adult goods like alcohol. This spending occurs with unexpected benefit changes, suggesting parents protect children from financial shocks.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Public Policy
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Governments worldwide provide financial transfers to parents for child welfare.
- Examples include the US Child Tax Credit (CTC) and UK Child Benefit (CB).
- These policies aim to improve child well-being through increased household resources.
Observation:
- The UK's Child Benefit (CB) is a long-standing, universal payment to parents.
- Analysis reveals CB is spent differently than regular income.
- A significant portion of CB is allocated to goods assignable to adults, including alcohol.
Findings:
- Unexpected variations in Child Benefit lead to disproportionate spending on adult-assignable goods.
- Up to 50% of marginal Child Benefit dollars may be spent on alcohol.
- This spending pattern is linked to unanticipated changes in benefit levels.
Implications:
- Parents may use predictable child benefits to insure children against financial shocks.
- The findings challenge assumptions about how parental transfers directly benefit children.
- Understanding household spending patterns is crucial for effective social policy design.
Related Concept Videos
00:55Parental Care
Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
01:49Probability Laws
Overview
01:35Pedigree Analysis
Overview
01:25Benefits of Self-Esteem
Self-esteem—an individual's overall evaluation of their worth—plays a complex role in psychological functioning and well-being. It is often associated with many positive traits, such as confidence, optimism, and perseverance. Individuals with high self-esteem typically experience better sleep, manage peer pressure more effectively, and report greater life satisfaction. Conversely, low self-esteem has been consistently linked with increased risks of depression, anxiety, and poor academic or...
00:57Inclusive Fitness
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
01:29Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children from...