by Karl Widerquist | Dec 8, 2014 | Research
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Would it be possible to provide people with a basic income as a right? The idea has a long history. This book draws on two pilot schemes conducted in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, in which thousands of men, women and children were provided with an unconditional monthly cash payment.
Book Cover
In a context in which the Indian government at national and state levels spends a vast amount on subsidies and selective schemes that are chronically expensive, inefficient, inequitable and subject to extensive corruption, there is scope for switching at least some of the spending to a modest basic income. This book explores what would be likely to happen if this were done.
The book draws on a series of evaluation surveys conducted over the course of the eighteen months in which the main pilot was in operation, supplemented with detailed case studies of individuals and families. It looks at the impact on health and nutrition, on schooling, on economic activity, women’s agency and the welfare of those with disabilities.
Above all, the book considers whether or not a basic income could be transformative, in not only improving individual and family welfare but in promoting economic growth and development, as well as having an emancipatory effect for people long mired in conditions of poverty and economic insecurity.
Sarath Davala, Renana Jhabvala, Soumya Kapoor Mehta, and Guy Standing. Basic Income: A Transformative Policy for India. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing India, December 2014.
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 8, 2014 | Research
A universal basic income (UBI) and unemployment insurance (UI) are two possible forms of social insurance for an economy in which job loss is a significant risk. Alice Fabre, Stéphane Pallage, and Christian Zimmermann (FPZ) address in a recent working paper from the Research Division of the St. Louis Fed. They argue, when compared head-to-head, UI is a better social safety net than a UBI. Skeptics are likely to seize on these findings, but in the Ed Dolan’s view, they do not support a blanket rejection of a UBI. Instead, as he explains, they highlight how important it is for UBI proponents to pay attention to details of financing and program design.
Ed Dolan. “Universal Basic Income vs. Unemployment Insurance: Which is the Better Safety Net?” EconoMonitor. November 24th, 2014
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 2, 2014 | News
Unconditional Basic Income Europe (UBIE) is organising a series of five conferences on the theme “UBI in Europe – Promoting civil society” in order to promote Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) in Europe over the next year. The conferences are:
- UBI as a response to social inequality in Europe – Maribor, Slovenia, 19th-20th March 2015.
- Minimum Income vs. Basic Income – Paris, France, 19th -20th June 2015
- Stimulating Social Cohesion and Peace – The Hague, Netherlands, 17th -18th Sept. 2015
- National UBI vs. UBI in Europe – Budapest, Hungary, 5th – 6th Dec. 2015
- UBI and Degrowth – Cologne, Germany, 26th – 28th Feb. 2016
For each of those events, organizers want to adopt a participative way of elaborating the programs, and therefore, they are seeking for contributions to our first conference to be held in Maribor, Slovenia, 19th-20th March 2015.
The invitation is open to all European citizens with a wider interest in unconditional basic income who wish to share their findings and research with a European network. The conference in Maribor will explore the following key themes:
- Different social support systems and inequality
- Reaching social cohesion in Europe – Basic Income as one possible solution
The deadline for proposals is 8th January. For more details on how to participate, please see the conference website.
See also UBIE’s calendar of events.
UBIE Conference in Slovenia
by Karl Widerquist | Dec 1, 2014 | News, The Indepentarian
Alanna Hartzok, a long-time support of Basic Income, received 37% of the vote in the Congressional election for 9th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. She received the Democratic Party nomination for Congress earlier this year, and finished second in voting to the Republican incumbent, Bill Shuster.
Hartzok is Founder and Co-Director, Earth Rights Institute and author of The Earth Belongs to Everyone. She is a researcher, an activist, a prominent supporter of land value taxation. She has been a regular contributor to the North American Basic Income Guarantee Congress for the last decade, and she has written about basic income, usually using the term “Citizens Dividend,” which is a basic income financed by resource and rent taxes.
Hartzok’s campaign website lists 14 fundamental policies and guidelines to help us establish economic democracy, including, “7. Establish a PA Sovereign Wealth Fund similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund and like in Alaska distribute “citizen dividends” to directly share natural resource super profits from our commonwealth of natural resources.”
For more information about Hartzok and her campaign see:
David Wenner. “Alanna Hartzok, Bill Shuster: Results are in from 9th Congressional District in Franklin County.” PennLive, November 04, 2014.
Alanna Hartzok. “Citizen Dividends and Oil Resource Rents: A Focus on Alaska, Norway and Nigeria.” Wealth and Want, February 2004.
See also her campaign website.
The Alanna Hartzok Campaign
by Karl Widerquist | Nov 29, 2014 | News
Nearly 8 out of 10 Namibians (78%) favor a Basic Income Grant (BIG—as unconditional basic income is known in the region) for every Namibian citizen according to a recent poll. This result is probably the highest level of support for Basic Income recorded in any representative poll in any country. Most respondents still favored BIG even if it required raising taxes or introducing new taxes. Despite the popularity of BIG, the ruling party remains opposed to it. Despite the ruling party’s opposition to BIG, the ruling party remains popular.
"The Swapo Youth League (SPYL) secretary, Dr Elijah Ngurare, says if every Namibian stood to benefit from the economic wealth of the country equitably there would be no need for calls for subventions such as the Basic Income Grant (BIG)." -New Era
The poll results came from round six of Afrobarometer opinion poll, which interview 1,200 adults all across the country during the period between 27 August and 19 September 2014. The sixth round survey is for the period between 2014 and 2015 covering up to 35 African countries. Survey Warehouse and the Institute for Public Policy Research conducted the Afrobarometer survey in Namibia.
For more information see:
Kuzeeko Tjitemisa, “Namibians craving for BIG – report.” New Era, November 19, 2014.
New Era, “Unequal income fuels BIG calls – Ngurare.” New Era, October 14, 2014.
Institute for Public Policy Research, “New Release: Namibians express strong policy prefe4rences in comparison to the government.” Windhoek, Namibia. 18 November, 2014.
