The experiment, which was conducted over three years with a sample of 1350 families, showed there is only a slight disincentive for people to work if they are given a subsidy. We saw a very small reduction in the labor supply by men. But many of those men had been working 60 hours a week. So, if they reduced their labor effort by 10 percent, they were still working 54 hours a week. The experiment did at least somewhat reduce the fear that people would all of a sudden retire if the government got involved and helped them financially.
Some people continue to believe that.
I will miss his wit and wisdom. When Watts came to Columbia University in 1976, he brought several projects with him. He was working on a project to help the U.S. government define family budgets, specifically how much people need and how should they spend. So the government no longer publishes the family budget. Watts has always been interested in household behavior, with a focus on the poor and children.