by Karl Widerquist | Aug 4, 2013 | News
Malaysia’s new program called Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) that has some elements of the negative income tax (NIT) variant of the basic income guarantee. Receipt of benefits is not automatic, but those who are eligible need to apply by filling out a from. There has been little discussion of the connection between BR1M and NIT, but a recent commentary by Kang Beng Ho discusses BR1M in context of the NIT.
Kang Beng, Ho, “Is BR1M a negative income tax?” the Star Online [Malaysia], Monday May 20, 2013
People queing up to collect their BR1M vouchers. Under BR1M, an applicant would be required to file, not quite a tax return, but a simplified claim form to the tax authorities. -The Star Online
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 3, 2013 | Research
“One idea that warrants further investigation is a guaranteed annual income or negative income tax. This would replace our current welfare system and would ensure Canadians had a certain minimum income.…”
Paul Latimer, “An alternative to welfare may help Canadians,” Kelowna Capital News (British Columbia), May 23, 2013
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 3, 2013 | News, Research
Francis Coppola
This article argues in support of the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG), relative to another proposed reform, the Job Guarantee (JG). Responding to two recent articles by L. Randall Wray criticizing basic income as inflationary, Francis Coppola castes doubt that Wray’s claims that BIG and JG would have very different effects on inflation. She concludes, “It seems to me that the fundamental difference between JG proponents and supporters of basic income lies not in their economics but in their view of human nature. JG proponents are essentially managerialist. They think that people have to be told what to do or they won’t do anything useful. Basic income supporters, on the other hand, are liberals: they believe that if people are supported and their basic needs are met, they will find useful and productive things to do. … Personally I would prefer a basic income, and I admit that is because I am shockingly liberal and really don’t like being told what to do.”
Coppola, Francis. “Economic equivalence: job guarantee and basic income,” Coppola Comment, Thursday, 11 July 2013
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 3, 2013 | Research
In this blog post, author and political scientists, Chris Blattman, reports on a study he helped to organize, which shows that giving cash to poor people in a very poor country significantly increases both their employment rate and their employment income. The study was a randomized field experiment conducted in Uganda.
Blattman, Chris, “Dear governments: Want to help the poor and transform your economy? Give people cash,” Chris Blattman: International development, politics, economics, and policy, 23 May 2013
The original study can be found online at the Social Science Research Network’s website.
Chris Blattman
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 2, 2013 | Research
This article response to the allegation that basic income is unrealistic by arguing that the idea of full employment at a living wage is far less realistic.
Livable4All, “Job Fairy or Universal Livable Income: What is More Realistic?” June 7, 2013
