Cash by Any Other Name? Evidence on Labelling from the UK Winter Fuel Payment

Arbeitspapier

Standard economic theory implies that the labelling of cash transfers or cash-equivalents (e.g. child benefits, food stamps) should have no effect on spending patterns. The empirical literature to date does not contradict this proposition. We study the UK Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), a cash transfer to older households. Exploiting sharp eligibility criteria in a regression discontinuity design, we find robust evidence of a behavioural effect of the labelling. On average households spend 41% of the WFP on fuel. If the payment was treated as cash, we would expect households to spend approximately 3% of the payment on fuel.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 1216

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis ; Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
• Subject: labelling ; benefits ; expenditure ; Sozialpolitik ; Öffentliche Sozialleistungen ; Privater Haushalt ; Ältere Menschen ; Konsumentenverhalten ; Großbritannien

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Beatty, Timothy K. M. ; Blow, Laura ; Crossley, Thomas F. ; O’Dea, Cormac
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Koç University-TÜSİAD Economic Research Forum (ERF)
• (where): Istanbul
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/108593
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET