A Basic Income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
The Royal Society of Arts Explains: [2 minutes]
BIEN Congresses
The next annual BIEN Congress will occur in Wrocław, Poland on 15-17th July 2027 https://biencongress2027.org/
The theme will be Basic Income and the Spirit of Solidarity: Pathways to Justice and Equality. Call for papers will be up soon.
The last annual BIEN Congress occurred August 19th-22th at the Toronto Metropolitan University.
See pictures from the 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói here.
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Riane Eisler on Partnership Ethic and Basic Income
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...
Can Universal Basic Income Transform China’s Fight Against Poverty?
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...
A Cash Giveaway to Improve Health in Chelsea, Massachusetts
It doesn't really matter what disease you are looking at — cancer, heart disease, dementia, drug abuse, psychiatric disorders. In every case, poverty is associated with worse disease. But the word "associated" is doing a lot of work there. Many of us feel...
New article: “Basic income trials and the politics of scale: A research agenda”
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,...
BIEN Asia-Pacific Hub publishes second edition of UBI Times
Dear readers, Greetings from the BIEN Asia-Pacific Hub, and welcome to the second edition of UBI Times. The response to our inaugural edition has been truly heartening. The messages of support, the thoughtful reflections, and the new connections we have made in the...
Braga Meetings: Panel on UBI and Sustainability – Call for papers, Deadline 28 February
As the world confronts profound socio-political and ecological challenges, there is a growing need to rethink foundational concepts in political philosophy and public policy. The transition to more sustainable societies demands not only technological innovations but...
Prof. David Nettle on Basic Income’s Workability
Prof. David Nettle is a researcher in the Evolution and Social Cognition team at the Institut Jean Nicod, Paris, and a Professor at Northumbria University. His research spans the biological and social sciences, focusing on economic and social inequality, trust and...
Paper proposal deadline for BIEN 2025 Congress extended
ATTENTION: FINAL DEADLINE FOR PAPER SUBMISSION EXTENDED! We announce that the deadline for paper submission for the 24th Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) has been extended to March 20th. This is the final deadline to submit your proposal.If you...
Top 10 Universal Basic Income Articles of 2024
As the editor of Basic Income Today and a moderator for the Basic Income subreddit, I read a lot of stuff every year about UBI, somewhere around 100 articles a month. Below, I've compiled a list of the top ten articles I consider my favorites out of everything...
Dieter Althaus’s Brief Comments on “Solidarity Citizen’s Income”
Dieter Althaus has been serving as the Vice President of Governmental Affairs at Magna Europe since 2011. In this role, he is responsible for managing relationships with governmental entities and overseeing corporate affairs within Europe. Scott Douglas...
UBI Taiwan’s single-parent basic income reaches a new ‘milestone’
UBI Taiwan hosted a press conference to spotlight the progress of its basic income pilot program for single-parent households. The event brought together policymakers, academics, and beneficiaries to celebrate this milestone and advocate for a more equitable future.
Call for contributions – Organizing Sufficiency in the Global South: Justice Effectiveness and Instrumentation
The concept of sufficiency has gained traction in both public and scholarly debates in recent years as an organizing principle to direct the ecological transition. However, there are few evaluations of sufficiency policies to date, and even less is known about...