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 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
Linkedin, Instagram, X – biencongress25 (at) gmail [dot] com
BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)
Recent News, Opinion, and Research
Exogenous Increases in Basic Income Provisions Increase Preventive Health-Seeking Behavior
"Universal Basic Income (UBI) policies have the potential to promote a wide range of public health objectives by providing those who qualify with direct cash payments. One overlooked mechanism of particular importance to health researchers is the possibility that...
Breaking: Oregon Rebate has qualified as Measure 118!
We have fantastic news to share: Oregon Rebate has qualified for the November 2024 ballot as Measure 118! Measure 118 will increase the minimum corporate tax rate after $25 million of in-state revenue by 3%. The proposed increase will raise at least $6 billion...
Working, but poor: The middle class in crisis
This week the European TV channel ARTE has put out a long documentary, shown around Europe, based on a three-hour interview they did with Guy Standing some months ago. They followed it up by talking to people in Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Sweden, letting them...
Basic income as an innovative social protection tool
As a tool that speaks to 7 out of the 17 SDGs, basic income pilots have shown transformative effects in communities. This blog post calls for a systematic consideration of this tool in social protection schemes across humanitarian, development and peacebuilding...
Video version of Scot Santens’ article on Altman pilot
Scott Santens has recorded a video version of his article. To view it on YouTube, click here.
EC 2024 Report
1. Chair and Vice-Chair Report 2. Treasurer Report 3. Secretary Report 4. Hubs Coordinator Report 5. Research Coordinator Report 6. Social Media, Features Editor, News Editor Reports 7. Affiliates Coordinator Report Table of Contents To read the full report, click...
A US Basic Income Experiment that Wasn’t
By Guy Standing In July 2024, the National Bureau of Economic Research issued a report from the researchers on an income-transfer project conducted in Illinois and Texas. It has generated global attention, with some commentators saying it undermines the case for basic...
Did Sam Altman’s Basic Income Experiment Succeed or Fail?
The results of one of the biggest basic income experiments ever came out in July 2024, and as usual, the nuances of the findings are lost among the voices of those loudly proclaiming basic income doesn't work. This one is the three-year pilot of Sam Altman's that...
1st Latin American Congress for Unconditional Universal Basic Income
“Thinking about basic income in a context of crisis and transformation in Latin America” was the general theme of the congress that brought together participants from ten countries in the region and six countries from other continents. Global unrest, women’s unpaid...
Final Report on Los Angeles Guaranteed Income Pilot
"In October 2021, former Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot (BIG:LEAP) program. Benefitting just over 3,200 households, the program provided $1,000 per month in unconditional cash payments for 12 months to...
15 th Online Open Forum: BIEN working group on Clarification of Basic Income Definition – 14 August 2024
Date: 14 th August2024Time: 1pm -3pm GMT (2pm-4pm BST)Please register via this form: https://forms.gle/DZjSRS7wDdRhK1nw6The information on Zoom link will be shown in the form. Télémaque Masson-RéciponWhy ‘high enough’ just ain’t good enough: the case against the...
Forbes article on UBI includes quotes from BIEN members
Guy Standing, Karl Widerquist and Evelyn Forget are quoted in this article dated July 17.