by Malcolm Torry | Sep 16, 2020 | News, Research
Innovations for Poverty Action has published a research paper, ‘Effects of a Universal Basic Income During the Pandemic’.
We examine some effects of Universal Basic Income (UBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic using a large-scale experiment in rural Kenya. Transfers significantly improved well-being on common measures such as hunger, sickness and depression in spite of the pandemic, but with modest effect sizes. They may have had public health benefits, as they reduced hospital visits and decreased social (but not commercial) interactions that influence contagion rates. During the pandemic (and contemporaneous agricultural lean season) recipients lost the income gains from starting new non-agricultural enterprises that they had initially obtained, but also suffered smaller increases in hunger. This pattern is consistent with the idea that UBI induced recipients to take on more income risk in part by mitigating the most harmful consequences of adverse shocks.
To download the paper, click here.
by Malcolm Torry | Sep 15, 2020 | Research
Luca Michele Cigna has written a master’s degree thesis about trade unions’ positions on Basic income: Looking for a North Star? Trade unions’ positions in the Universal Basic Income debate
First, unions’ propensity to support a UBI depends on
the degrees of socio-economic insecurity. In contexts characterised by high levels of poverty,
unemployment and precariousness, UBI proposals look more attractive in the eyes of union leaders.
Secondly, welfare regime generosity is a strong explanans of trade unions’ support. Less
encompassing welfare systems encourage trade unionists to regard UBI as a legitimate policy
alternative. Third, trade unions’ attachment to the work ethic and the insurance principle affects their
preferences for unconditionality and universality in policy settings. Fourth, their role in the industrial
landscape, and their degree of organisational inclusivity, have a strong influence on UBI support.
by Malcolm Torry | Sep 13, 2020 | News, Research
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.
by Malcolm Torry | Aug 6, 2020 | Research
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.
by Malcolm Torry | Aug 6, 2020 | News, Research
Details of the unconditional local currency income experiment in Maricá can be found here; with a translation in Portuguese here.
The European Commission is advertising for a post-doctoral researcher to study the unconditional local currency experiment in Maricá in Brazil. Details of the opportunity can be found here.
by Julio Linares | Aug 4, 2020 | Research
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
