“This note documents preliminary findings from the trial of an innovative social policy intervention for tackling poverty, improving well-being, and addressing the causes of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL). The Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) social protection intervention is a universal and unconditional cash-plus programme, combining intensive community mobiliser support and casework with household monthly cash transfers to all households in the neighbourhood. It was implemented between October 2021 and December 2023 across Dhaka’s North Gojmohol neighbourhood by Terre des hommes Bangladesh (Tdh) and is part of the wider CLARISSA programme, led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).”
Christopher Santiago recalls being skeptical the first time he heard about basic income — giving people cash with no conditions on how to spend it. It was 2020, when presidential candidate Andrew Yang pitched it for all American adults, and Santiago thought, “That doesn’t make much sense.”
But for a year now, Santiago has been getting $500 a month through one of the largest cash aid pilots in the U.S., and he’s come around.
The single dad of three lives in Alsip, Ill., and was one of a whopping 233,000 people who applied for the program in Cook County, which includes Chicago. (There was a lottery to pick the 3,250 participants.) As a public employee, his income is toward the upper end of the program cutoff, but he says it hardly feels like enough for a family of four.
“Imagine a world where not a single child has to grow up in poverty.
This vision may not be as far off as one might imagine. A new study by Abt Associates shows how guaranteed income pilots improve children’s wellbeing and strengthened families.
The paper, titled “My kids deserve the world”: How children in the Southeast benefit from guaranteed income, uses qualitative data from MGI mayor-led guaranteed income pilots in four Southern U.S. cities:Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Louisville, KY, andShreveport, LA. Researchers identified five key benefits:
Providing for Basic Needs
Better Educational Outcomes and Children’s Development
Work-Life Balance
Enrichment, Parent-Child Bonding, and Parental Confidence
RighfulShare: An Income Movement is the first unconditional basic income transfer with GoodDollar in South Africa. The project is growing in strength, pioneering fairer income access bringing both resources and web3 solutions to the small town of Groblershoop in the Northern Cape.
“We need a new approach to addressing poverty in South Africa. The current system is not working and we can no longer pretend that there will be enough jobs for everyone. By bringing visibility to the benefits of a digital basic income transfer, we’re expanding the possibilities for South Africans”, says Karen Jooste, Founder of RightfulShare.
The participants are using their monthly basic income to alleviate day-to-day financial stress and open up space for creativity and entrepreneurship.
For example, Darryl Wessles who has been building his pig farm to address a gap in the market for smaller meat parcels for the community. Meanwhile Joyberne Neels has picked up an interest in cryptocurrencies and the potential global digital financial ecosystems can provide.
All the participants are bringing their own life experiences and outlooks, providing diverse stories and outcomes to this UBI project. However, each has spoken to how relieving the constant burden of unemployment has been life changing. See more testimony by participants here.
The project was recently recognized by the Swiss/South African Blockchain Innovation Challenge as one of the most innovative projects in the blockchain space.
Currently, RightfulShare is teaming up with GlobalGiving for Giving Tuesday, an effort to connect nonprofits to donors to create targeted meaningful impact. All donations go towards supporting more young entrepreneurs in South Africa kickstart their dream venture, escape poverty and overall reduce income inequality. It is super easy to donate, simply click on the link below. All donations will be matched on the 28th November 2023
A Canadian research team recently presented a new report on the Ontario Basic Income pilot during a launch event organized by their community partners, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. The report, which includes a special foreword from Ontario’s former Premier Kathleen Wynne, who implemented the pilot and also spoke at the event, builds upon the same team’s previous quantitative findings. The new research delves into a qualitative exploration of the Ontario Basic Income, highlighting the personal narratives, perspectives, and lived experiences of participants to provide a nuanced understanding of the policy’s effects on different aspects of well-being. The event’s agenda featured a documentary screening, a panel discussion, presentations on national basic income trends, the unveiling of a zine, and more. The occasion was covered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which reported on the event and its key discussions.
