Did the Education Maintenance Allowance improve outcomes?

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), a weekly payment to students aged 16-19 from low-income backgrounds, was rolled out across the UK in 2004 with the aim of boosting participation in full-time education and later-life outcomes. It was discontinued in England in 2011, but is still in place in a modified form in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

At this online event we presented findings of a new report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which shows the effect of the rollout of the EMA in England on both short- and long-run outcomes for disadvantaged students. IFS researchers demonstrated the effect of the EMA on educational attainment, later-life earnings, and criminal behavior.

Following the IFS presentation, we had responses from Professor Dame Alison Wolf (King's College London) and Paul Gregg (Labour Market Advisory Board, DWP), followed by a Q&A from the audience.