by Peter Knight | Mar 17, 2025 | News
Photo by aboodi vesakaran on Unsplash
“President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi announced the Royalties for Everyone program, aiming to grant Surinamese citizens US$750 from future oil royalties with a 7% annual interest. The initiative seeks to ensure direct benefits from natural resources, enhance local financial engagement, and promote economic development ahead of the anticipated oil sales from Block 58, with implementation scheduled for 2025.
In a significant policy announcement, President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi declared the launch of the Royalties for Everyone (RVI) program that will allocate an oil royalty of US$750 to each citizen of Suriname, with an annual interest of seven percent. The payment is to be derived from future royalties after oil from offshore Block 58 is sold. This financial instrument aims to foster economic opportunities and promote a more equitable distribution of national wealth among the population. The RVI is pegged to the US dollar to ensure stability, with distributions to be made in Surinamese dollars. Special arrangements will also be made for elderly citizens and individuals with disabilities to access their funds before 2028.”
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by Peter Knight | Mar 17, 2025 | News
Photo by Adam Gethin on Unsplash
“President Irfaan Ali’s recent announcement of a $200,000 one-off cash grant to every household across Guyana comes during unprecedented economic growth fueled by the country’s expanding oil sector. The proposal is bold, offering immediate relief to families during a moment of rapid economic change. Yet, while the policy provides short-term financial respite, it raises critical questions about long-term economic security and sustainability, especially when considering a Universal Basic Income (UBI) framework.
As we reflect on this proposal, the broader implications of Guyana’s oil-driven transformation come into focus. How can Guyana ensure its oil wealth benefits all citizens, not just a select few? We explore the prospects and challenges of the one-off cash grant policy, examining how it aligns with—or diverges from—a true UBI system. We also consider some alternative approaches to address economic inequality, with lessons drawn from expert discussions in Transforming Guyana and reflections from recent commentaries.”
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by Peter Knight | Feb 28, 2025 | News
Abstract
“The growing popularity of basic income has led to extensive trials of the policy in numerous settings across the world. However, analysis of the politics of basic income, and in particular the political dynamics preceding and resulting from trial programs, lags. In response, we propose a research agenda that uses political scale to investigate where basic income trials emerge, how individual trials’ design and implementation parameters vary, and how those trials influence subsequent policy development. By focusing on the previously omitted variable of political scale, our approach addresses a number of key challenges in evaluating basic income trials. First, we provide a means of identifying negative and partial cases to remedy the small-N problem at the national and regional scales. Second, focusing on a given scale helps to identify specific incumbent programs and policy possibilities influenced by basic income trials. Third, our framework. draws attention to the importance of distinct, scale-based political dynamics in both securing basic income trials and converting trial programs into future policy changes.
K E Y W O R D S basic income, cash transfers, political scale, social experiments, trial programs. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.© 2025 The Author(s). Policy Studies Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Policy Studies Organization.”
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by Peter Knight | Jan 27, 2025 | News
In January, BIEN’s Asia-Pacific Hub published its first newsletter, 14 pages complete with many articles and photos.
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by Peter Knight | Jan 16, 2025 | News
Note: The concept of basic income discussed here does not conform to BIEN’s definition.
“Many Americans are struggling with poverty, unemployment, mental health issues, addiction, and other challenges that make it extremely difficult to get back on their feet. According to the latest data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), over 770,000 Americans reported experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, marking a record high number and an 18% increase from 2023.
A guaranteed income program aims to provide reliable cash assistance to give people the stability, time, and resources they need to secure housing, food, healthcare, employment, and other basic needs. Studies, including our own, have shown that guaranteed income programs can effectively lift people out of homelessness and poverty when implemented thoughtfully. Cash assistance empowers recipients to make their own choices about what they need most. It treats them with dignity and trusts that they know best how to improve their situation.”
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