2020 Korea Basic Income Fair International Conference

2020 Korea Basic Income Fair International Conference

The original plan was for an international conference in Korea in February 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic caused the event to be postponed. An international conference has now been held online, and a wide range of speakers and discussants from around the world have contributed.

Session 1 was on ‘steppingstones to Basic Income: pilots and trials’; and session 2 was about Basic Income financing strategies. The sessions can be seen here.

Session 3 was about modern capitalism, modern life, and Basic Income; session 4 about Basic Income, local currency, and regional economy; and session 5 about the welfare state crisis and Basic Income. Sessions 3, 4 and 5 can be seen here.

Basic Income and microcredit together

Basic Income and microcredit together

Katrin Oemmelen has written an article, ‘Using poverty reduction policies in the fight against COVID-19’, which is a summary of her dissertation.

The results of a six-year research project in Namibia shows that access to financial tools such as universal
basic income and microcredit, in combination with financial literacy, can have a measurable impact in
Namibia, especially during the COVID-19 crisis and corresponding economic shutdown.

The article can be found here.

And the dissertation (in German) here.

Basic Income World Wide Survey

Basic Income World Wide Survey

During the first Worldwide Meeting of UBI Advocates and UBI Networks, held on 7th of April, 2020, comprising members of BIEN who were interested in advocacy, a proposal resolved to carry out a survey about the economic measures taken by different countries in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Our survey has three aims:

1) To discover how many jurisdictions/governments around the world, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have claimed to have implemented a basic income, OR have implemented new measures that fulfil some characteristics and functions of a basic income, even if such new measures are not claimed to be basic income.

2) To explore and compare the social service context of each jurisdiction which has introduced a basic or partial-basic income scheme.

3) To find out more about the organizations whose remit is basic income only, and of those whose remit includes basic income among other ideas, and the extent to which these organizations work together.

You can complete the survey in the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDRaOhMqurn7wu4yxAyAmUrivkLsQWej7Jm-omtjuky2U-_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

This survey should be completed by an individual familiar with the defining characteristics of basic income on the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) website (basicincome.org/about-basic-income). You may be:
– An office holder or another responsible member of an organization interested in basic income;
– A Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) member;
– An individual basic income advocate.

The team who produced the following survey includes; Liz Fouksman, Reinhard Huss, Ali Mutlu Köylüoğlu, Julio Linares, Annie Miller, Sheila Regehr, Toni Pickard and Malcolm Torry. We thank others who contributed to this process.

In case you experience any problems or have questions, please contact ubicovidsurvey@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for your contribution.

Julio Linares
Social Outreach
Basic Income Earth Network

An article on Basic Income funded by sovereign money

An article on Basic Income funded by sovereign money

Geoff Crocker has published an article in the Real-world economic review: Inequality and the case for UBI funded by sovereign money

The current economic system is generating increasing inter-personal inequality in income and wealth. This is well documented by several observers, including others in this collection of essays, such as James Galbraith, and not least Thomas Piketty in his two books and on-line database … . I therefore don’t intend to rehearse the data analysis of inequality in this brief paper, but to take it as a working assumption. My aim rather is to locate causes of inequality, and to consider whether universal basic income (UBI) can claim to alleviate inequality … . The main focus for evidence is the UK, but the issues generalise. …

The UK: A Summer discussion series

The UK: A Summer discussion series

The Basic Income Conversation is launching a Summer Discussion Series on Basic Income. It’s a 3 part series that explores the Future of Work, Pilots, and Monetary Financing – some of the most talked about subjects when it comes to UBI.

The first event is on Wednesday 15th July, 6.30pm on Basic Income & the Future of Work. It’s hosted by Prof Nick Pearce (IPR at University of Bath) who’s joined by author Daniel Susskind and Director of Future of Work Anna Thoma

The second will be on Monday 27th July, 6.30 p.m. on Basic Income Pilots: Learning from Finland and ScotlandMichael Pugh, the Director of the Basic Income Conversation, will be joined by Olli Kangas (University of Turku, Finland) and Paul Vaughan (Fife Council)

The third event will be on Money on Monday 10th August, 6.30pm on Paying for Basic Income: Monetary Financing and Sovereign with Frances Coppola, Geoff Crocker, and Emma Dawnay.

The series is a preparation for launching a Research Network in the Autumn which aims to bring together researchers and academics working on UBI.

Further information from Michael Pugh, Director, Basic Income Conversation