A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Emergency basic income: Distraction or Opportunity – May 16th at 4pm
Jurgen De Wispelaere and Francesca Bastagli will explore the implications of Emergency Basic Income (EBI) for social protection systems and its relationship to Universal Basic Income (UBI). They will examine whether EBI can be integrated into existing programs,...
11 U.S. states with guaranteed basic-income programs
Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash Note: These pilot programs do not meet BIEN's definition of basic income. "Ingrid Sullivan, 48, used her cash from the San Antonio guaranteed basic-income program to rent a home where her grandchildren can play in the yard....
Free cash programs spread in the United States
"Across the country, city-led guaranteed income programs are delivering unrestricted payments to struggling households, including those ineligible for other aid. Conservative critics are pushing back. By J.J. McCorvey Just weeks after Kiki Ramos received her first...
New video on UBI and the cost of living crisis in the UK
Neil Howard has just published a new video on UBI and the cost of living crisis, that the Green Party in the UK have also shared a version of. You can see the video here and on social media here.
Emergency basic income: Distraction or opportunity
"This themed issue, guest-edited by Jurgen De Wispelaere and Troy Henderson, is devoted to examining, first, whether the widespread use of immediate and unconditional cash transfers as a policy response to the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis has provided...
Money as Medicine – New England Journal of Medicine
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash An article by Eric Reinhart, M.D. has been published this month. Teaser: "What the expanded child tax credit essentially did, at a cost of $128 billion over 1 year (less than 2% of the federal budget, 3% of 2023 U.S. health care...
Call for Papers: FRIBIS Annual Conference 2024: Towards the Development of a Full UBI?
"The FRIBIS Annual Conference 2024 focuses on partial basic income models and their implementation into various welfare systems. By examining feasible designs of partial basic income, the conference aims to identify ways to advocate for the idea of an unconditional...
Seattle Pilot doubles employment rates
Photo by Darpan on Unsplash Note: Like many pilot programs, this one does not meet the BIEN definition of basic income because it is not universal for residents in its geographic region. "A Seattle-area guaranteed basic income pilot gave low-income residents $500 a...
FRIBIS Lecture Series – Can a Basic Income Grant Reduce Violence?
"Event Title: FRIBIS Lecture Series – Can a Basic Income Grant Reduce Violence? Evidence from Namibia, Kenya, and Uganda Date & Time: April 23, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Format: Online Event Organizers: FRIBIS in cooperation with the BIP & WEF_FABI teams Zoom...
Basic income as a necessary component of a socio-ecological transformation
"The dominant economic model is destabilizing societies. And the planet. It is time for change It is time for a basic income, too. A memorandum signed worldwide by 39 renowned scientists and activists for basic income and 35 basic income organisations and networks...
Brookings Institution study on Hollywood writers strike re AI
Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash "In some ways, the writers’ success reflects something of a best-case scenario. They were organized in a highly effective union, in a unionized industry, in a union town. They leveraged one of their greatest skills—their...
Guaranteed Income Is Sweeping the Nation. Will It Last?
"Since the pandemic, over 200 guaranteed-income experiments launched across the United States. The Mellon Foundation backed one of them, providing $115 million to support 2,400 New York artists." To read the full article click here.