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]
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
UBI Provides a Safety Net During Bank Failures
This month Silicon Valley Bank defaulted causing the biggest bank failure since Lehman Brothers in 2008. The US government helped in finding a solution to stop the depositors from losing their money. The main reason for the bank's failure was a bank run because of the...
Mark Wadsworth, former BIEN Treasurer, has passed away
Gerard Mark Wadsworth – always known as Mark – was a passionate advocate for Basic Income. He was a tax accountant, and brought to the Basic Income debate a comprehensive knowledge of the UK’s tax system. For over twenty years Mark was a passionate advocate for Basic...
Discussion on Sri Lankan Economic Crisis and UBI
An almost two hour discussion of the Sri Lankan economic crisis in the broader context of today's flawed development model moderated by Sonali Wanigabaduge concludes with former World Bank senior director for Development Economics, the chief economist of the Middle...
Short Video on June US Basic Income Guarantee Conference
The US BIG conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, on June 8-9 2023. Watch a short video about the conference by clicking here. Learn more about the conference and register/purchase tickets by clicking here.
New article by BIEN Chair Sarath Davala in support of Catalan Pilot Project
Nació (The Nation), one of the most popular digitals in Catalonia, has published a new article by BIEN Chair, Sarath Davala, in support of the currently unfunded Catalan Pilot UBI project. You can read an English version by clicking here.
The People’s Pledge: Building Guaranteed Income as Communities’ Vision for Freedom in California
By: Nika Soon-Shiong, Founder and Executive Director, Fund for Guaranteed Income Less than an hour’s drive from the pristine homes of Beverly Hills, the tree-lined campuses of UCLA, and the booming heart of the entertainment industry, Compton faces an economic crisis....
Geoff Crocker “The Macroeconomics of Basic Income and Sovereign Money”
Geoff Crocker has reframed his argument for UBI in the context of re-thinking income and money in economic theory at the Cambridge Trust for New Economic Thinking conference on Policies to Tackle the Cost of Living Crisis, March 8, 2023. To see the slides of this...
Guy Standing article in support of Catalonia UBI Pilot
Guy Standing, BIEN co-founder and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Catalan UBI pilot, has published an article in support of that pilot. Read the article in Spanish here and English here.
Panel on Basic Income at 13TH BRAGA MEETINGS ON ETHICS AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
"This panel invites contributors to elaborate discussions concerning the Basic Income theory and its connection with problematics in the fields of Ethics, Politics, Sociology, and Economics. There are central issues for this panel, which aim for multidisciplinary...
Catalan Basic Income Pilot Scientific Committee Open Letter
The photo above is of President Aragonès (ERC) next to Salvador Illa (PSC) after ratifying the agreement on the Catalan anual budget. (C) Joan Mateu Parra. The Catalan Basic Income Pilot project, which plans to conduct one of the largest basic income experiments...
FRIBIS Summer School 2023 – Microsimulation and Social Welfare Maximization
"The workshop aims at offering young researchers (MSc, PhD) or more advanced scientists yet beginners in static modelling a rare and extensive introduction to the development of static microsimulation models and welfare analysis. The whole process, from research...
Video: Philippe van Parijs: A world in crisis: boost or damper for basic income?
Some argue that global warming, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine strengthen the case in favour of the introduction of an unconditional basic income. Others argue instead that they shatter the prospect of introducing it in the foreseeable future. Who is right?...