by Stanislas Jourdan | Apr 18, 2016 | News
Ahead of the national referendum taking place early in June, the Swiss city of Lausanne has adopted a motion to test a basic income and assess the effects of the policy.
Will Lausanne be the first city in Switzerland to test a basic income? It is possible. Last Tuesday, April 12th, the City Council took an important first step, when it adopted a motion (pdf) aimed at running a basic income experiment. This non legally-binding motion – which asks the Executive Council of the Municipality to implement a pilot – passed by a close margin (39 votes in favor versus 37 against, with 8 abstentions).
The motion has received significant support from the Green Party. It was originally tabled by Green Party member Laurent Rebeaud, who passed away in December. Léonore Porchet, President of the Lausanne Green Party, says, “Basic income offers a solid and securing social floor, as opposed to the fragile social safety net that we know today. The freedom provided by basic income encourages activity, social inclusion and innovation. In addition it values and support the ‘free’ work such as volunteer activities.”
Recent polls conducted in Switzerland bolster Porchet’s contention that a basic income would “encourage activity” rather than subsidize laziness, as some detractors fear. These polls conclude that only 2% of Swiss people would stop working if they had a basic income, while 22% would become entrepreneurs and 54% would take opportunities to improve their qualifications.
Although the Lausanne City Council’s motion remains vague about the specifics of the experiment, it proposes that it should be monitored in cooperation with the University of Lausanne, in a way similar to the basic income pilot planned for the Dutch city of Utrecht, which is being developed in collaboration with the University of Utrecht. Lausanne is a city of 130,000 inhabitants located in the French speaking region of Switzerland. However, the experiment would include only a sample of the population.
To run the experiment, the city will need financial support from the Canton and the Confederation. However, this is likely to be feasible, as it should not incur more costs than the existing budget for social benefits.
The Lausanne experiment’s main goal would be to assess how work incentives change depending on the conditions for receiving social benefits, as Porchet explains on the website of the local section of the Green Party.
Picture CC Alice
by Kate McFarland | Mar 28, 2016 | Research
University of Tampere
Last November, Finland’s plans to test a basic income caught the attention of international media. Although the experiments are still some months away (scheduled to begin in 2017), the Finnish Social Insurance Institution (KELA) has continued to make strides in investigating the possibilities for a basic income.
KELA has recently published a working paper that reviews the current state of the debate on basic income and assesses the pros and cons of various specific proposals.
Johanna Perkiö, a doctoral candidate at the University of Tampere, has written a useful summary of the KELA paper — including a description of the differences between the models of a basic income proposed by the Green Party, the Left Alliance, the think tank Libera, the Christian Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Youth Organization.
Perkiö also discusses the challenge of removing disincentives to work during the study, given that traditional benefits will remain in place during the trials. She broaches solutions such as a negative income tax system and reduction of benefits on a sliding scale.
To learn more about the variety of basic income models under consideration:
Johanna Perkiö, “Universal basic income: A search for alternative models,” Tutkimusblogi, January 25th, 2016.
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by Josh Martin | Feb 28, 2016 | News
In the wake of numerous Canadian groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, espousing support for a basic income, Ontario has taken a definitive step forward in committing to studying the idea further by making a budget commitment to undertake a basic income pilot project. While basic income support has been rising in Canada over the past few years, this represents a major breakthrough for the basic income cause in Canada.
According to the full text of the budget, which can be found in this article, the specific text related to the basic income pilot is as follows:
In the 2015 Budget, Ontario introduced a consultation on social assistance rate restructuring. Through ongoing discussions, there emerged a clear consensus on the need to move policy considerations beyond social assistance rates to include aspects of the broader income security system.
As a result, this year, the government will continue to engage with delivery partners, clients and sector advocates to chart the path to comprehensive reform that effectively reduces poverty, supports people in their efforts to participate in the economy, and provides human services in a way that makes sense to the people who need them. This process will look across government and at the broader income security landscape to ensure that various existing and future programs work together to help Ontarians. The government will also engage with First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities to ensure that the path forward recognizes unique challenges on- and off-reserve and helps all Ontarians live a better life.
One area of research that will inform the path to comprehensive reform will be the evaluation of a Basic Income pilot. The pilot project will test a growing view at home and abroad that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market. The pilot would also test whether a basic income would provide a more efficient way of delivering income support, strengthen the attachment to the labour force, and achieve savings in other areas, such as health care and housing supports. The government will work with communities, researchers and other stakeholders in 2016 to determine how best to design and implement a Basic Income pilot.”
While details of the pilot are still forthcoming, the news of a provincial government committing to a pilot is an exciting development for the future of a basic income in Canada.
by Stanislas Jourdan | Feb 23, 2016 | News
Finnish basic income experiments: a model for France?
Thursday 3rd March, 19h
At the Finnish Embassy in Paris
With Olli Kangas, Martine Alcorta, Arnaud de l’Épine, Jean-Éric Hyafil
One year ago, the new Finnish government committed itself to run local basic income pilots, in order to assess its impacts in case it would implement UBI at national level.
The move attracted an unprecedented level of attention. What are the exact proposals being considered? How to guarantee the scientific quality of such experiments? And what are exactly the ambitions of the Finnish Center-Right government? Is the approach relevant for France where pilots are also being discussed?
The French Movement for Basic Income (MFRB) is pleased to invite you to join the conversation with our key speakers:
- Olli Kangas, head of Research at KELA (the Finnish Institute for Social Protection)
- Martine Alcorta, Regional Council Member in Aquitaine Limousin Poitou-Charente. She is pushing for a basic income pilot in the region, where a motion was adopted last year.
- Arnaud de l’Épine, economist, member of the think tank Ars Industrialis.
- Jean-Eric Hyafil, Phd researcher, founding member of MFRB
More info here.
Registration: nicole.teke@revenudebase.info
by BIEN | Dec 30, 2015 | News
Saskatchewan’s New Democrats have endorsed a guaranteed basic income pilot project and are currently lobbying the provincial government to begin a limited distribution of a guaranteed income. The New Democrats are willing to accept either an unconditional basic income or a negative income tax. The endorsement and the subsequent effort to implement a guaranteed income came on the heels of a report from the Advisory Group on Poverty Reduction recommending a pilot project. The Canadian Medical Association has also expressed support for such a measure.
For more information on the potential Saskatchewan guaranteed income pilot project, see:
NDP Caucus Administration, “New Democrats call for a guaranteed basic income pilot project“, September 02, 2015.
