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
by Malcolm Torry | Jul 9, 2020 | Research
Geoff Crocker has published an article in the Real-world economic review: ‘Inequality and the case for UBI funded by sovereign money‘
The current economic system is generating increasing inter-personal inequality in income and wealth. This is well documented by several observers, including others in this collection of essays, such as James Galbraith, and not least Thomas Piketty in his two books and on-line database … . I therefore don’t intend to rehearse the data analysis of inequality in this brief paper, but to take it as a working assumption. My aim rather is to locate causes of inequality, and to consider whether universal basic income (UBI) can claim to alleviate inequality … . The main focus for evidence is the UK, but the issues generalise. …
by Malcolm Torry | Jul 6, 2020 | News, Research
The Basic Income Conversation is launching a Summer Discussion Series on Basic Income. It’s a 3 part series that explores the Future of Work, Pilots, and Monetary Financing – some of the most talked about subjects when it comes to UBI.
The first event is on Wednesday 15th July, 6.30pm on Basic Income & the Future of Work. It’s hosted by Prof Nick Pearce (IPR at University of Bath) who’s joined by author Daniel Susskind and Director of Future of Work Anna Thoma
The second will be on Monday 27th July, 6.30 p.m. on Basic Income Pilots: Learning from Finland and Scotland: Michael Pugh, the Director of the Basic Income Conversation, will be joined by Olli Kangas (University of Turku, Finland) and Paul Vaughan (Fife Council)
The third event will be on Money on Monday 10th August, 6.30pm on Paying for Basic Income: Monetary Financing and Sovereign with Frances Coppola, Geoff Crocker, and Emma Dawnay.
The series is a preparation for launching a Research Network in the Autumn which aims to bring together researchers and academics working on UBI.
Further information from Michael Pugh, Director, Basic Income Conversation
by Malcolm Torry | May 21, 2020 | News, Research
The London School of Economics has published an article about the importance of research, ‘The Basic Income debate needs high quality research’.
During the past few years, increasing employment insecurity has fuelled growing interest in the idea of a Basic Income (also known as a Universal Basic Income, a Citizen’s Income, or a Citizen’s Basic Income): an unconditional income for every individual. The coronavirus crisis, which worsened both employment and income, intensifies that interest in Basic Income yet further. Debate about social policy needs high quality research, using the best available tools. ...
Our work provides just one example of a Recovery Basic Income and of a feasible permanent Basic Income to follow it. In the context of the lively debate about Basic Income, alternative illustrative schemes will no doubt emerge. What is essential is that the best possible research methods should be employed to evaluate them.
To read the article, click here.
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by Malcolm Torry | May 13, 2020 | News, Research
The Journal of Social Policy has published an article by Young-Kyu Shin, Teemu Kmppainen and Katai Kuitto, ‘Precarious Work, Unemployment Benefit Generosity and Universal Basic Income Preferences: A Multilevel Study on 21 European Countries’
The idea of universal basic income (UBI) has been attracting increasing attention globally over recent years. However, research on the individual and institutional determinants of UBI support is scarce. The present study attempts to fills this gap by analysing workers’ attitudes towards UBI schemes in 21 European welfare states and focusing on the roles of precarious work (i.e. part-time work, temporary employment, low-skilled service employment, and solo self-employment) and unemployment benefit generosity (i.e. net replacement rate, payment duration, and qualifying period). We estimate fixed and random effects logistic models by merging country-level institutional data with the European Social Survey Round 8 data collected in 2016. The findings show that temporary employment is associated with positive attitudes towards UBI schemes, whereas other types of precarious work do not have significant influences. In addition, the results reveal that the more generous a country’s unemployment benefits, the less likely are workers in that country to support UBI schemes.
For further details of the article, click here
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by Malcolm Torry | May 10, 2020 | News, Research
FEPS (the Foundation for European Progressive Studies) has published the results of a wide-ranging opinion survey:
Across the EU14 a plurality of citizens support the idea of universal basic income. Respondents who fully agree (24%) and are somewhat supportive (22%) led to a combined total of 46 per cent. Those who are fully opposed (15%) and somewhat opposed (14%) were 29 per cent of the total sample.
At the Member State level, support for UBI is highest in Germany (62%) and lowest in Portugal (35%). These numbers are in line with our previous survey results that showed currently Portuguese have greater faith in the promise of hard work and entrepreneurship than Germans. …
The public is only just beginning to form opinions on this matter. Awareness is largely driven by the media with attention-grabbing headlines capturing the public’s imagination as politicians warily enter the debate.
This burgeoning understanding about UBI’s meaning and real-life application is reflected in the largely even spread of responses across the agree to disagree spectrum. It is also seen in the fact that every fourth respondent (25%) did not have an opinion about or have mixed feelings toward UBI. …
To read the full report, click here. The section on Basic Income starts on page 66.
Readers might like to compare the results with those of a more detailed survey conducted in 2017.
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