The European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, a UN-affiliated intergovernmental organization in Vienna, is searching for a new Executive Director (starting date 1 March 2026).
Please submit your application in English language to AltoPartners Executive Search, Ms. Anna Woell, a.woell@altopartners.at, by 11 April 2025.
For more information, please check out the job profile.
Dr. Malcolm Torry, a British academic, has been a leading researcher on basic income for more than 40 years. As Director of the Citizen’s Basic Income Trust (CBIT) from 2001 to 2020, and General Manager and then Treasurer of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) from 2016 to 2024, he played a key role in policy discussions and economic research. In this interview, he discusses basic income’s history, feasibility, and societal impact, addressing its effects on employment, automation, welfare policy, and human dignity. He argues that basic income does not disincentivize work, can be a stabilizing force, and requires proper pilot projects in developed economies to measure its full effects.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are with Malcolm Torry, a British academic and researcher who specializes in basic income and the management of religious organizations. He holds multiple advanced degrees in psychology, economics, and social policy, though we do not necessarily need to list them all. If it runs through the journal, it gets fact-checked—the journal is live.
Dr. Torry served as Director of the Citizen’s Basic Income Trust (CBIT) from 2001 to 2020, where he played a crucial role in developing and promoting basic income research. His extensive work includes publications such as Basic Income: A History and Citizen’s Basic Income: A Multidisciplinary Approach. His research has significantly contributed to welfare policy discussions and religious institution management, influencing academic circles and public policy debates. He has recently had an interest in Continental Philosophy.
So, thank you very much for joining me today. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day for a little Canadian me. Now, in 1985, basic income came into your world. How? Why?
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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.”
To read the full article click here
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.”
To read the full article, click here.
Riane Eisler (born July 22, 1931) is an Austrian-born American systems scientist, attorney, and author known for her work on gender, family, economics, and social evolution. She pioneered the “partnership” and “domination” models of society in The Chalice and the Blade (1987). Eisler’s research spans anthropology, neuroscience, and economics, advocating for caring-based economic systems. She is the editor-in-chief of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies. She leads the Center for Partnership Systems, promoting equity, sustainability, and social transformation. Eisler discusses her journey from childhood as a refugee to her multidisciplinary research on societal structures. She critiques domination-based systems, arguing that they perpetuate trauma and devalue care. Eisler highlights historical and contemporary examples of partnership-oriented societies, including the Nordic nations and ancient Çatalhöyük. She challenges economic models that ignore caregiving and advocates for a “caring economics of partners.” Emphasizing the role of storytelling in reshaping cultural narratives, she calls for systemic change. Eisler concludes by stressing the need for a universal income within a partnership framework, arguing that it can transform societal norms and economic distribution.
Riane Eisler: She was confused. My childhood experiences as a child refugee with my parents, fleeing from the Nazis—when I witnessed violence, insensitivity, and cruelty—led me to questions that most of us have asked at some point in our lives: Does it have to be this way? Because we humans have such an enormous capacity for caring, sensitivity, and empathy.
It is part of our evolution. For creativity? So why has there been so much destructiveness, cruelty, and violence? Of course, I have not tried to answer these questions for many years. My life has been like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle coming together. But my calling was truly to answer that question. My work is multidisciplinary, and I emphasize multidisciplinary because it is about connecting the dots—something that is very hard to do in our siloed educational system, which we have inherited from more rigid, domination-based times.
To read the full article, click here.
Research presented at the 2024 BIEN Congress explores China’s possible shift from existing social assistance programs toward Universal Basic Income (UBI), raising insights into poverty alleviation and social equity.
Conducted by interns Zhao Muge, Wu Yifan, and Huang Xinhe under the guidance of scholars Cheng Furui and Ye Jiabin, the study titled “Can China Move Towards the UBI?” evaluates China’s current Minimum Livelihood Guarantee (Dibao) and targeted poverty alleviation policies, proposing UBI as a potential next step.
The study highlights that China’s Dibao policy, intended to provide a minimum living allowance to low-income households, initially showed strong results in poverty reduction—particularly evident in rural areas. For example, a 1 percent increase in rural Dibao expenditure corresponded to a 6.8 percent reduction in poverty in regions like Shanxi Province from 2008 to 2018. However, over time, Dibao’s effectiveness declined due to welfare dependency, stigmatization of recipients, and administrative inefficiencies, including inadequate adjustment mechanisms for benefit standards and cases of resource misallocation. From 2015-2016, the reduction in the poverty rate in some parts of China was less than 30 percent.
Transitioning from subsistence allowances to targeted poverty alleviation was a necessary step to improve the efficiencies of the program, the study’s authors argued. The number of rural Dibao beneficiaries began to surpass urban beneficiaries around 2007 and peaked in 2013, prompting China to implement targeted poverty alleviation policies. From 2018 to 2020, the number of rural beneficiaries vastly exceeded urban beneficiaries, emphasizing the critical need for interventions targeting rural poverty. Next, the study discussed the advantages of targeted poverty alleviation compared to subsistence allowances. Case studies showed that targeted poverty alleviation can be implemented through infrastructure development, industry support, education, and other means. Compared to Dibao, targeted poverty alleviation places more emphasis on enabling self-development through comprehensive measures. As a result, it has a broader scope, more projects, and is more comprehensive and in-depth, leading to sustainable poverty alleviation.
The research also explores the theoretical and practical groundwork supporting UBI implementation in China. Theoretically, UBI aligns with China’s goal of common prosperity and narrowing the wealth gap. Practically, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an experimental foundation through widespread government-issued consumption vouchers, which effectively stimulated local economies, with economic multipliers ranging up to tenfold in certain cases.
The paper outlines several feasible pathways for China’s gradual implementation of UBI: using dividends from carbon emissions trading, establishing a permanent citizen trust fund financed by state-owned enterprises, adopting negative income tax schemes to enhance employment incentives, and distributing subsidies adjusted according to regional poverty lines and demographic factors.
Despite recognizing challenges, such as funding sources, potential increased tax burdens, and the risk of disincentivizing labor participation, the research strongly supports the viability and potential benefits of UBI. Ultimately, the authors conclude that by carefully addressing these challenges, China could successfully integrate aspects of UBI into its social welfare system, significantly reducing poverty, enhancing social equity, and driving sustainable economic growth.
The 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
Linkedin, Instagram, X – biencongress25 (at) gmail [dot] com
BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)