Researchers ‘surprised’ by what happened when low-income moms received regular cash payments with no strings attached

But they suspect that the money could have enabled some parents, either moms or dads, to work less or “choose a job with slightly lower pay, but with shorter commute time so that they have more time with their babies,” said Katherine Magnuson, a social-work professor at the University of Wisconsin and one of nine lead researchers collaborating on the study.