Italy: Urgent petition in time of Corona Virus: “Citizen income for all! If not now, When?”

by | Mar 23, 2020 | News

The Basic Income Network (BIN) Italia has published a petition pleading for the Italian governement and Parliament to immediately install an emergency basic income. There, it can be read:

To the Italian government and Parliament

EXPANDING THE CITIZEN’S INCOME SCHEME! IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

Right at a time when it is recognised that individuals must act as active and responsible members of their communities, it is necessary to prove we all truly adhere to the idea of a society that fulfils its members’ real needs. In short, it is time to guarantee the right to existence for all human beings.

Now that we are all facing sudden and unexpected changes, appropriate political and social structures are needed in order to both respond to the current (corona virus) emergency and introduce an universal social protection measure. It is time to simplify the social protection schemes so as to include the whole population, thus guaranteeing each individual access to these protections regardless of whether they are employed or not.

In 2019, Italy introduced a citizen’s income scheme which, if properly reformed in terms of universal access and less binding criteria, can be an important tool to support people and ensure them the right to access the resources they need to survive.

Therefore, we believe it is urgently necessary to:

  • Expand access to the Citizen’s Income Scheme for all those who are excluded from social safety nets;
  • Simplify procedures and access criteria, and make immediate benefit payments to new applicants;
  • Deliver the benefit payment on an individual basis;
  • Remove the existing constraints in terms of active labour market policies or other binding criteria, which now more than ever prove to be expensive and ineffective;
  • Use all forms of financing, including European funds, to support a broader number of citizens’ income beneficiaries;
  • Provide that changes made in terms of universal access do not end after the “quarantine” or “emergency” period, but rather become structural, thus eventually forming the basis for a new highly inclusive social welfare system.

Social Welfare is not a cost, but an investment!

The petition has been undersigned and supported by dozens of organizations operating in the Italian territory.

Canada: The Ontario Basic Income (cancelled) experiment, revealed

Canada: The Ontario Basic Income (cancelled) experiment, revealed

by | Mar 12, 2020 | News

The findings of the McMaster University Basic Income Project (MUBIP) were released on the 4th of March 2020. The study looked into the impact of the Ontario Basic Income on over 200 recipients in one of the pilot sites, namely Hamilton-Brantford, where 1000 recipients were initially enrolled into the program. Even though the previously hired research team’s contract to evaluate the program was cancelled (by the present government), a new analysis was made possible through funding from the Hamilton Community Foundation, McMaster University and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
The findings were publicized at a lauch event on the referred day, organized by the McMaster Institute for Health Equity taking place at the L.R. Wilson Concert Hall, and having Hugh Segal as a guest. From the new study conclusions, it can be read:
  • Everyone who received basic income reported benefitting in some way.
  • Many recipients reported improvements in their physical and mental health, labour market participation, food security, housing stability, financial status and social relationships.
  • Basic income also had a noticeable impact on the use of health services, with many of the survey respondents indicating less frequent visits to health practitioners and hospital emergency rooms.
  • For a significant number of participants, basic income purportedly proved to be transformational, fundamentally reshaping their living standards as well as their sense of self-worth and hope for a better future.
  • The majority of those employed before the pilot reported working while they were receiving basic income. Many reported moving to higher paying and more secure jobs.
  • Those working before the pilot reported even greater improvements on some measures of well-being than those who were not working before.

More information at:

Laurie Monsebraaten, “Did basic income drive people to quit work? Not according to a Mac study of recipients“, The Hamilton Spectator, March 4th 2020

Links to Free Versions of most of Karl Widerquist’s writing

by | Sep 6, 2019 | Opinion, The Indepentarian

This page contains a list of links to free versions of pretty much everything I’ve ever written. Free versions are possible because most publishers allow authors to post early versions of their publications on their personal website. Where the published version is free, I’ve tried to include a link to it, but otherwise, the links below are to the early versions on my “Selected Works” webpage.

The early versions are usually the last version I wrote before sending it to the publisher. That means they usually lack copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading. They’re going to contain mistakes that aren’t in the final version. Maybe some really dumb mistakes. But otherwise, they should be good approximations of the works I eventually published.

The reason some things are missing is that it’s a hassle to post everything. If you want something that’s missing please contact me at Karl@Widerquist.com.

According to Google Scholar, my academic publications were cited 1,417 times by July 28, 2020.

My “Selected Works” website has free versions of most of my publications. My Biography, from December 3, 2016, is on BasicIncome.org.https://i0.wp.com/d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/lrg/9783/0300/9783030038489.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1

Forthcoming Books

  1. Karl Widerquist and Grant McCall. 2020. The Prehistory of Private Property: Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy, Book 2, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming
  2. Karl Widerquist. Universal Basic Income: Essential Knowledge, Boston: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
  3. Michael Anthony Lewis and Karl Widerquist, Economics for Social Workers: Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press (the First Edition, 2002, is available from Columbia University Press)

Published Books

  1. Karl Widerquist, A Critical Analysis of Basic Income Experiments for Researchers, Policymakers, and Citizens, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, December 2018
  2. Karl Widerquist and Grant McCall, 2017. Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
  3. Karl Widerquist, Jose Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.), 2013. Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  4. Karl Widerquist, March 2013. Independence, Propertylessness, and Basic Income: A Theory of Freedom as the Power to Say No. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
  5. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) 2012. Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform around the World, New York: Palgrave Macmillan
  6. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) 2012. Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model, New York: Palgrave Macmillan
  7. Karl Widerquist, Michael Anthony Lewis, and Steven Pressman (eds.), 2005. The Ethics and Economics of the Basic Income Guhttps://works.bepress.com/widerquist/107/download/arantee, Aldershot, UK: Ashgate
  8. Michael Anthony Lewis and Karl Widerquist, 2002. Economics for Social Workers: The Application of Economic Theory to Social Policy and the Human Services, New York: Columbia University Press

Working papers

  1. Georg Arndt and Karl Widerquist, 2019, “The Cost of Basic Income in the United Kingdom: A Microsimulation Analysis,” In progress.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articleshttps://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41tiZNLnTxL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg?resize=324%2C499&ssl=1

  1. Georg Arndt and Karl Widerquist, 2019, “Deceptively Simple: The Uselessness of Gross Cost in the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Universal Basic Income,” Maine Policy Review, November
  2. Karl Widerquist, 2019, “The Pursuit of Accord: Toward a Theory of Justice With a Second-Best Approach to the Insider-Outsider Problem,” Raisons Politiques 73 (1), 61-82
  3. Jean-Fabien Spitz, Hillel Steiner, Philippe Van Parijs and Karl Widerquist, 2019, “Why Private Property?” Raisons Politiques 73 (1), 119-131
  4. Karl Widerquist, 2018, “The Devil’s in the Caveats: A Brief Discussion of the Difficulties of Basic Income Experiments,” CESifo Forum 19 (3), September, 30-35
  5. Karl Widerquist, 2017, “The Cost of Basic Income: Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations,” Basic Income Studies 12 (2), December
  6. Karl Widerquist and Grant S. McCall, 2015. “Myths about the State of Nature and the Reality of Stateless Societies.” Analyse & Kritik 37 (2), August, 233-257
  7. Karl Widerquist, 2015. “The Piketty Observation Against the Institutional Background: How natural is this natural tendency and what can we do about it?” Basic Income Studies 10 (1), June, 83-90
  8. Grant S. McCall and Karl Widerquist, 2015. “The Evolution of Equality: Rethinking Variability and Egalitarianism Among Modern Forager Societies.” Ethnoarchaeology 7 (1) March: 21 – 44
  9. Karl Widerquist, 2010. “How the Sufficiency Minimum Becomes a Social Maximum,” Utilitas 22 (4): 474-480
  10. Karl Widerquist, 2010. “Lockean Theories of Property: Justifications for Unilateral Appropriation,” Public Reason 2 (3): 3-26
  11. Karl Widerquist, 2010. “the Physical Basis of Voluntary Trade,” Human Rights Review 11 (1): 83-103
  12. Karl Widerquist, 2009. “A Dilemma for Libertarianism,” Politics, Philosophy, and Economics 8 (1): 43-72
  13. Karl Widerquist, 2008. “Problems with Wage Subsidies: Phelps’s economic discipline and undisciplined economics” International Journal of Green Economics 2 (3): 329-339
  14. Karl Widerquist, “The Bottom Line in a Basic Income Experiment” Basic Income Studies 1 (2): 1-5
  15. Karl Widerquist, 2006. “Who Exploits Who?” Political Studies 54 (3): 444-464
  16. Karl Widerquist and Michael A. Lewis, 2006. “The Basic Income Guarantee and the Goals of Equality, Efficiency, and Environmentalism,” International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment 2 (1): 21-43. (Revised version published in Environment and Employment: A Reconciliation, Philip Lawn (Ed.) London: Routledge, pp. 163-183)
  17. Karl Widerquist, “A Failure to Communicate: What (if Anything) Can We Learn From the Negative Income Tax Experiments?” the Journal of Socio-Economics 34 (1): 49–81
  18. Karl Widerquist, 2003. “Public Choice and Altruism,” the Eastern Economic Journal 29 (3): 277-278
  19. Karl Widerquist, 2001. “Perspectives on the Guaranteed Income, Part II” the Journal of Economic Issues 35 (4): 1019-1030
  20. Karl Widerquist, 2001. “Perspectives on the Guaranteed Income, Part I” the Journal of Economic Issues 35 (3): 749–757
  21. Karl Widerquist, 1999. “Reciprocity and the Guaranteed Income” Politics and Society, 33 (3): 386–401

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

  1. Karl Widerquist, forthcoming, “The Negative Income Tax Experiments of the 1970s,” the Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income. Malcolm Torry (editor). New York: Palgrave-Macmillan
  2. Karl Widerquist, forthcoming, “Three Waves of Basic Income Support,” the Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income. Malcolm Torry (editor). New York: Palgrave-Macmillan
  3. Karl Widerquist, March 2018, “My Own Private Basic Income.” In Amy Downes and Stewart Lansley (eds.) It’s Basic Income: the Global Debate, Bristol, UK: Policy Press, an Imprint of the University of Bristol Press, pp. 48-53. Also published in OpenDemocracy, June 27, 2017 (more than 47,000 downloads)
  4. Karl Widerquist, December 22, 2016. “The People’s Endowment.” In Axel Gosseries and Inigo Gonzalez (eds.) Institutions for Future Generations, Oxford University Press, pp. 312-330
  5. Karl Widerquist, September 26, 2013, “The Basic Income Grant as Social Safety Net for Namibia: Experience and lessons from around the world,” in Social safety nets in Namibia: Assessing current programmes and future options, Research Department of the Bank of Namibia (editor), Windhoek, Namibia: Bank of Namibia, pp. 43-67
  6. Karl Widerquist, March 31, 2013. “Is Basic Income Still Worth Talking About?” in The Economics of Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination in the 21st Century Volume II, Robert S Rycroft (ed.) Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, pp. 568-584
  7. Karl Widerquist and Allan Sheahen, September 3, 2012. “The Basic Income Guarantee in the United States: Past Experience, Current Proposals,” in Basic Income Worldwide: Horizons of Reform, Matthew Murray and Carole Pateman (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 11-32
  8. Karl Widerquist, 2012. “Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Basic Income in Practice,” Democratic Imperatives: Innovations in Rights, Participation, and Economic Citizenship. Report of the Task Force on Democracy, Economic Security, and Social Justice in a Volatile Word, American Political Science Association (ed.). Washington, DC: The American Political Science Association (April), p. 64
  9. Karl Widerquist, 2011. “Why we Demand an Unconditional Basic Income: the ECSO freedom case,” in Arguing about Justice: Essays for Philippe Van Parijs, Axel Gosseries and Yannick Vanderborght (eds.) Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Presses universitaires de Louvain, pp. 387-394
  10. Karl Widerquist, 2009. “Libertarianism,” in the International Encyclopedia of Public Policy: Governance in a Global Age, Volume 3, Phillip O’Hara (Ed.) Perth: GPERU, pp. 338-350
  11. Karl Widerquist, 2008. “An Introduction to Citizens Capital Accounts,” in Social Aspects of Green Economics, Miriam Kennet (ed.) Oxford: Green Economics Institute, pp. 79-80.
  12. Robert Levine, Harold Watts, Robinson Hollister, Walter Williams, Alice O’Connor, and Karl Widerquist, 2005. “A Retrospective on the Negative Income Tax Experiments: Looking Back at the Most Innovative Field Studies in Social Policy,” in The Ethics and Economics of the Basic Income Guarantee, Karl Widerquist, Michael A. Lewis, and Steven Pressman (eds.) Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, pp. 95-106.
  13. Karl Widerquist, 2005. “Does She Exploit or Doesn’t She?” in The Ethics and Economics of the Basic Income Guarantee, Karl Widerquist, Michael A. Lewis, and Steven Pressman (eds.), Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2005, pp. 138-162
  14. Karl Widerquist, 2004. “The Labour Market Findings of the Negative Income Tax Experiments and Their Effects on Policy and Public Opinion,” in Promoting Income Security as a Right: Europe and North America, Guy Standing (ed.), London, Anthem Press, pp. 497-537

Non-Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications Including Book Chapters and Journal Articleshttps://i0.wp.com/media.wiley.com/product_data/coverImage300/07/14051581/1405158107.jpg?resize=300%2C431&ssl=1

  1. Karl Widerquist, 2013. “Reciprocity and Exploitation,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  2. Jose A. Noguera and Karl Widerquist, 2013. “Basic Income as a Post-Productivist Policy,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  3. Yannick Vanderborght, José A. Noguera, and Karl Widerquist, 2013. “Politics,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  4. Karl Widerquist, Yannick Vanderborght, and José A. Noguera, 2013. “The Idea of an Unconditional Income for Everyone,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  5. Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, and Yannick Vanderborght, 2013. “The Implementation of Basic Income,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  6. Karl Widerquist, 2013. “Theories of Justice and Basic Income,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  7. Yannick Vanderborght and Karl Widerquist, 2013. “The Feminist Response to Basic Income,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  8. Karl Widerquist, 2013. “Freedom and Basic Income,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  9. Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, and Yannick Vanderborght, 2013. “The Economics of Basic Income,” in Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research, Karl Widerquist, José A. Noguera, Yannick Vanderborght, and Jurgen De Wispelaere (eds.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
  10. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard, 2012. “The Alaska Model as a Menu of Options,” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 243-251
  11. Karl Widerquist, 2012.“Reply to Comments,” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 233-240
  12. Karl Widerquist, 2012. “Citizens’ Capital Accounts: A Proposal,” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 183-203
  13. Karl Widerquist, 2012. “Exporting the Alaska Model to Alaska: How Big Could the Permanent Fund Be if the State Really Tried? And Can a Larger Fund Insulate an Oil-Exporter from the End of the Boom?” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 169-180
  14. Karl Widerquist, 2012. “A Permanent Endowment for the United States,” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 163-167
  15. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard, 2012. “Critical Reflections on the Future of Alaska’s Permanent Fund and Dividend,” in Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.), New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 115-122
  16. Michael W. Howard and Karl Widerquist, 2012. “Why Link Basic Income to Resource Taxation?” in Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 205-220
  17. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard, 2012. “Lessons from the Alaska Model,” in Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 221-228
  18. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard, 2012. “Exporting an Idea,” in Exporting the Alaska Model: Adapting the Permanent Fund Dividend for Reform Around the World, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-14
  19. Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard, 2012. “Success in Alaska,” in Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model, Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard (eds.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-15
  20. Karl Widerquist and Jurgen De Wispelaere, 2006. “Launching a Basic Income Journal” Basic Income Studies 1 (1): 1-6
  21. Michael Lewis, Steven Pressman & Karl Widerquist, 2005. “The basic income guarantee and social economics,” The Review of Social Economy 63 (4): 587-593. (Revised version published as “An introduction to the Basic Income Guarantee” in The Ethics and Economics of the Basic Income Guarantee, Widerquist, Lewis, Pressman (eds.), Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005)
  22. Karl Widerquist, 2005. “Discussion” Time for Land Value Tax? Dominic Maxwell and Anthony Vigor (eds.) London: Institute for Public Policy Research, pp. 60-64
  23. Karl Widerquist, 2005. “Introduction,” The Journal of Socio-Economics 34 (1): 1–2
Exporting the Alaska Model: An early version now available for free download

Karl Widerquist and Michael Howard, coeditors of “Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its suitability as a model”

Book Reviews

  1. Karl Widerquist, 2019, “Book Review – The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future,” Delphi – Interdisciplinary Review of Emerging Technologies 2, Issue 1, 59 – 60
  2. Karl Widerquist, 2014, “Review of Marshall Brain: Manna: Two Visions of Humanity’s Future.” Basic Income News:org
  3. Karl Widerquist, 2014, “Review of The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies.” Basic Income News:org
  4. Karl Widerquist 2011 “Review Essay: Two Memoirs Tell the History of the Alaska Dividend,” Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  5. Karl Widerquist, 2010. “Review of The Street Porter and the Philosopher: Conversations on Analytical Egalitarianism,” Sandra J. Peart and David M. Levy (eds.),” the Eastern Economic Journal 36 (2): 277-278
  6. Karl Widerquist, 2010. “Review of In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State, Charles Murray,” Review of Political Economy 22 (1): 170-174
  7. Karl Widerquist, 2009. “Review of Natural Justice, Ken Binmore,” Utilitas 21 (4): pp. 529-532
  8. Karl Widerquist, 2009. “Jeremy Waldron’s Legal Philosophy and the Basic Income Debate, comment on three books by Jeremy Waldron,” Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  9. Karl Widerquist, 2009. “Review of Just Distribution: Rawlsian Liberalism and the Politics of Basic Income, Simon Birnbaum,” Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  10. Karl Widerquist, 2008. “Review of The Failed Welfare Revolution: America’s Struggle over Guaranteed Income Policy, Brian Steensland,” Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  11. Karl Widerquist, 2007. “Review of the Ethics of Stakeholding, Keith Dowding, Jurgen De Wispelaere, and Stuart White,” the Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  12. Karl Widerquist, 2005. “Review of Libertarianism Without Inequality, Michael Otsuka,” the Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  13. Karl Widerquist, 2004. “Review of Work Behavior of the World’s Poor: Theory Evidence and Policy, Mohammed Sharif,” the Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  14. Karl Widerquist, 2004. “Review of The Civic Minimum, Stuart White,” the Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  15. Karl Widerquist, 2004. “Review of Real Libertarianism Assessed, Andrew Reeve and Andrew Williams (eds.),” the Citizens Income Newsletter (1)
  16. Karl Widerquist, 2004. “Review of Economics as Religion: from Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond, Robert H. Nelson,” the Eastern Economic Journal 30 (1): 153-155
  17. Karl Widerquist, 2001. “Review of The Political Economy of Inequality, Ackerman, Goodwin, Dougherty, and Gallagher (eds.),” the Journal of Economic Issues 35 (4): 1054-1056

Opinions, Editorials, and interviews (selected)https://media.springernature.com/w306/springer-static/cover-hires/book/978-1-137-03165-5

  1. Karl Widerquist, “America is in crisis. We need universal basic income now [The usual arguments against UBI don’t apply to the Emergency UBI],” the Guardian, 20 Mar 2020
  2. Karl Widerquist, “End the Threat of Economic Destitution Now,” Open Democracy, 17 September 2019
  3. Karl Widerquist, “The Growth of the Australian Basic Income Movement,” in Implementing a Basic Income in Australia: Pathways Forward, Elise Klein, Jennifer Mays, and Tim Dunlop (eds.) New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.
  4. Karl Widerquist, “Basic Income’s Third Wave,” OpenDemocracy, October 18, 2017
  5. Karl Widerquist, “The Alaska Model: a citizen’s income in practice,” Our Kingdom, Democratic Wealth: building a citizens’ economy. 24 April 2013
  6. Karl Widerquist “Commentary: Let’s change the way Alaska Permanent Fund pays dividends,” the Alaska Dispatch, December 5, 2012
  7. Karl Widerquist “Interesting Times Ahead for Alaska Permanent Fund,” the Alaska Dispatch, June 3, 2012
  8. Karl Widerquist “How Alaska Can Avoid the Third-Stage Resource Curse,” the Alaska Dispatch, February 27, 2012
  9. Karl Widerquist “Viewpoint: Lessons of the Alaska Dividend,” Citizens Income Newsletter, Issue 3, 2010
  10. Karl Widerquist “A BIG Idea: A Minimum Income Guarantee,” Multinational Monitor, Volume 30, No. 3, May/Jun 2009
  11. Karl Widerquist “Viewpoint: What Does the Stone Age Have to Do With Us?” Citizens Income Newsletter, Issue 3, 2008
  12. Karl Widerquist “Conference Report: The Eleventh BIEN Congress” Citizens Income Newsletter Issue 2, 2007
  13. Karl Widerquist “Re-Reading Keynes: Economic Possibilities of Our Grandparents” Dissent, Winter 2006
  14. Karl Widerquist “The Basic Income Guarantee,” Synthesis/Regeneration 26, Fall 2001
  15. Karl Widerquist “The Money-Making Ethic,” Chronogram Magazine, New Paltz, NY, January 1999
  16. Karl Widerquist “Blaming the Worker,” Chronogram Magazine, January 1998

Translations

  1. Karl Widerquist & Michael W. Howard, “作为备选方案的阿拉斯加模式 [The Alaska Model as a Menu of Options]” 实验主义治理 [Experimental Governance], translated by Cheng Furui, September 2015
  2. Karl Widerquist, “两本回忆录讲述阿拉斯加社会分红的历史 [Two Memoirs Tell the History of the Alaska Dividend]” 实验主义治理 [Experimental Governance], translated by Cheng Furui, August 2015
  3. Karl Widerquist, “基本收入与作为“说不”的权力的自由 [Freedom as the power to say no]” 实验主义治理 [Experimental Governance], translated by Gao Zhen, July 2015
  4. Karl Widerquist “Predicciones de Keynes: ‘Las posibilidades económicas de nuestros nietros’ Una visión restrospectiva” Ciudadanos: Critica Política y Propuesta Año 6, No. 10 El Futuro (Invierno de 2006). Traducido por José Villadeamigo, pp. 55-60 de “Re-Reading Keynes” Dissent

Legislation

“Tax Cut for the Rest of Us Act” of 2006. House Resolution 5257, introduced into the 109th Congress on May 2, 2006 was based entirely on: Karl Widerquist and Al Sheahen, “A Proposal to Transform the Standard Deduction into a Refundable Tax Credit” USBIG Discussion Paper No. 93, August 2004

https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510W026EfgL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1

The Future of Work as seen by the OECD

The Future of Work as seen by the OECD

by | Jul 19, 2019 | Research

Credit Picture CC(OECD/Marco Illuminati)

The OECD published “The Future of Work Employment Outlook 2019“.

Change is underway, driven by digitalisation, globalization, and demographic changes, and will impact each and every way in which our society operates. While on the one hand these mega-trends can amplify our capacity to better our lives, on the other they also pose challenges, which need to be dealt with.

With estimates suggesting that 14% of jobs are at risk of disappearing completely in the next decades and 32% changing radically, middle skilled jobs are particularly exposed to the transformation, with the risk of a hollowing out of the middle class: automation works “from the middle out”. The transition will bring to the emergence of many lower quality jobs on one side, and to other with a high degree of knowledge intensity. The risk is that earning inequalities between low and high skilled workers will increase.

“Shaping a future of work that is more inclusive and rewarding calls for a Transition Agenda for a Future that Works for All- a whole-of-government approach that targets interventions on those who needs it most”

Traditional means of income support will need to be revised, as they leave out a great number of precarious workers, which will make up for a greater share of the labour force. In the context of a flexible job market, which will see an increase in the number of entries and exits, and the need for continuous modernization of skills and work practices, the design of new systems of workers protection will become pivotal to the functioning of societies. It is important that workers know where they stand and can get the necessary protection and help in the area that they are in. So if they need something like a portsmouth workers compensation attorney or something similar that relates to legal requirements, they will be able to do so for their support.

Workers outside of the traditional form of contract are the one in the direst situation, as access to social protection is difficult for workers in non-standard employment; those who are falsely self-employed, finding themselves under the yoke of employers who don’t want to be held accountable for them. With little control over their wage and their working hours, they are the ones requiring more protection.

With non-traditional workers 50% less likely to be unionized, the emergence of monopsony in the labour market cannot be discarded, and with the instrument of collective bargaining lacking, changes to address the problem by providing the employees with more leverage are required.

Whilst the outlook discards universal basic income (UBI) as being too costly, this says nothing about its actual capacity to work as a solution. It is true that the main obstacle to the introduction of a UBI is to find its source of financing, but the measure’s design would help solving many of the problem arising in the labour market, as recent publications by the World Bank and the International Labour Organization pointed out.

Article reviewed by Dawn Howard.

More information at:

OECD, The Future of Work

Joseph Stiglitz on UBI and the future of work

Joseph Stiglitz on UBI and the future of work

by | May 19, 2019 | News

Credit picture: CC(Andrew Newton)

Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz speaks about inequality, automation, and Universal Basic Income (UBI) in a conversation at the New York Stock Exchange.

The economist says that, as many people fear, it is entirely plausible that the problem of inequality will get worse if countermeasures are not undertaken. Although he recognizes that a single program such as UBI may offer some advantages, he is not a big fan of the idea. Instead, he thinks that the main responsibility a society has is to provide everybody with a job (a Job Guarantee).

Stiglitz states that if jobs with decent salaries were available, the need for UBI wouldn’t exist, even though some social programs to protect the needy would be needed. But in his opinion many people find dignity in their job, and so the focus of the attention should be to make the labour market work properly.

A goal that could become more and more difficult to attain as technology advances, with machines threatening an ever-increasing number of professions. As automation proceeds, the risk is that inequalities will increase, as a result of growing unemployment and AI undermining the very basis of the market.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Stiglitz states, makes it possible to alter the functioning of the market economy, making everybody pay a different price, appropriating consumer surplus and adding it to the profit of the wealthiest, thus further polarizing the distribution of wealth.

The solution should be, in the economist view, twofold: on the one hand, the economy has lost its balance because workers lost their bargaining power, and thus it should be reestablished. On the other hand, the core of innovation is government funded research and government funded education, but too little of the proceeds go to the public, and a better system of sharing the benefits need to be designed.

While Stiglitz states he is not a big supporter of UBI, what he proposes in order to reduce inequality is what UBI itself is designed to do: provide workers with bargaining power and redistribute the wealth of society in a more equal manner.

More information at:

Andrew Davis, “Joseph Stiglitz weighs in on Universal Basic Income and the future of work“, CNBC, May 5th 2019