On December 13th, 2013, the French daily Le Monde has published a column entitled “Pour la mise en place d’un revenu universel” (“Arguing for the introduction of a basic income”), by Philippe Van Parijs (Louvain University). Among other things, Van Parijs refers to the Swiss referendum on basic income.
This opinion piece is available online.
A Bank vault with several hundred thousands dollars worth of coins inside is on sale (at a negotiable price) to benefit Generation Basic Income. The organization used the coins in a demonstration last October when it delivered signatures on a petition calling for a referendum on basic income in Switzerland. The group hopes that the sale of the contents will raise money for the campaign for basic income in Switzerland and around the world.
Two stories on the bank vault for sale are online:
The Daily Mail, “A safe investment! Swiss bank vault goes on sale… complete with EIGHT MILLION coins worth £270,000,” The Daily Mail, 29 November 2013.
RT Network, “8,000,000 coins for sale: Auction call for genuine Swiss bank vault,” RT Network, November 29, 2013.
Committee members for the initiative “CHF 2,500 monthly for everyone” (Grundeinkommen) open rolls of five cent coins in the old vault of the former Schweizerische Volksbank in Basel October 1, 2013.(Reuters / Ruben Sprich)
In what may be a unique social experiment, three pilot basic income schemes were conducted in India between 2010 and 2013, in which over 6,000 men, women and children received universal, equal and completely unconditional monthly cash payments. At this talk, Guy Standing reports on the main outcomes, looking at the effects on sanitation, nutrition, health, schooling, economic activity, women’s status, specific vulnerable groups, and social attitudes more broadly.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
The results are based on data generated by a multi-round evaluation and a modified randomized control trial methodology, in which those receiving the basic incomes were compared with others not receiving them. A second parameter for comparison was the presence or absence of a collective body, or “Voice organization”, representing the interests of the vulnerable in the villages studied.
Speaker: Guy Standing, a British economist, is Professor of Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is former Director of the Socio-Economic Security Programme of the International Labour Organisation.
Discussant: Sarah Cook, Director, UNRISD
Moderator: Blandine Blukacz-Louisfert, Officer-in-charge, UNOG Library
Location: UNOG Library Events Room (B-135)
Palais des Nations, Door 20, Geneva, Switzerland
More information: https://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BD6AB/search/496EBAAB72BE745FC1257C1D003A01D7?OpenDocument
VIDEO: TheLipTV, “Switzerland Basic Income Mountain of Money Performance” YouTube Oct. 17, 2013.
Kathleen Caulderwood, “$2,700 A Month No Matter What? Some Swiss Ask Government To Assure Income,” International Business Times, November 12 2013.
Switzerland -Rueters
The 24th BIEN CONGRESS in Maricá & Niterói – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 27-29 August 2025
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BIEN2024 was August 29–31 (Pictures and more coming soon)