Global InformationUniversal basic income information
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Universal basic income (UBI)[note 1] is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to work.[2][3][4] In contrast a guaranteed minimum income is paid only to those who do not already receive an income that is enough to live on. A UBI would be received independently of any other income. If the level is sufficient to meet a person's basic needs (i.e., at or above the poverty line), it is sometimes called a full basic income; if it is less than that amount, it may be called a partial basic income.[5] As of 2024, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but two countries—Mongolia and Iran—have had a partial UBI in the past.[6] There have been numerous pilot projects,[7] and the idea is discussed in many countries. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin.[8][9][10]
There are several welfare arrangements that can be considered similar to basic income, although they are not unconditional. Many countries have a system of child benefit, which is essentially a basic income for guardians of children. A pension may be a basic income for retired persons. There are also quasi-basic income programs that are limited to certain population groups or time periods, like Bolsa Familia in Brazil, which is concentrated on the poor, or the Thamarat Program in Sudan, which was introduced by the transitional government to ease the effects of the economic crisis inherited from the Bashir regime.[11] Likewise, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted some countries to send direct payments to its citizens. The Alaska Permanent Fund is a fund for all residents of the U.S. state of Alaska which averages $1,600 annually (in 2019 currency), and is sometimes described as the only example of a real basic income in practice. A negative income tax (NIT) can be viewed as a basic income for certain income groups in which citizens receive less and less money until this effect is reversed the more a person earns.[12]
Critics claim that a basic income at an appropriate level for all citizens is not financially feasible, fear that the introduction of a basic income would lead to fewer people working, and/or consider it socially unjust that everyone should receive the same amount of money regardless of their individual need. Proponents say it is indeed financeable, arguing that such a system, instead of many individual means-tested social benefits, would eliminate much expensive social administration and bureaucratic efforts, and expect that unattractive jobs would have to be better paid and their working conditions improved because there would have to be an incentive to do them when already receiving an income, which would increase the willingness to work. Advocates also argue that a basic income is fair because it ensures that everyone has a sufficient financial basis to build on and less financial pressure, thus allowing people to find work that suits their interests and strengths.[13]
Early examples of unconditional payments to citizens date back to antiquity, and the first proposals to introduce a regular unconditionally paid income for all citizens were developed and disseminated between the 16th and 18th centuries. After the Industrial Revolution, public awareness and support for the concept increased. At least since the mid-20th century, basic income has repeatedly been the subject of political debates. In the 21st century, several discussions are related to the debate about basic income, including those concerning the automation of large parts of the human workforce through artificial intelligence (AI), and associated questions regarding the future of the necessity of work. A key issue in these debates is whether automation and AI will significantly reduce the number of available jobs and whether a basic income could help prevent or alleviate such problems by allowing everyone to benefit from a society's wealth, as well as whether a UBI could be a stepping stone to a resource-based or post-scarcity economy.
- ^ "Improving Social Security in Canada Guaranteed Annual Income: A Supplementary Paper". Minister of Human Resource Development Canada. 1994. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- ^ Clifford, Catherine (27 June 2019). "Why everyone is talking about free cash handouts—an explainer on universal basic income". CNBC. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ LaPonsie, Maryalene (25 January 2021). "What Is Universal Basic Income?". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Universal basic income: An option for Europe? – DW – 11/28/2020". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "USBIG: What is BIG?". 24 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Gentilini, Ugo; Grosh, Margaret; Rigolini, Jamele; Yemtsov, Ruslan, eds. (25 November 2019). Overview: Exploring Universal Basic Income. The World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1458-7_ov. ISBN 978-1-4648-1458-7.
- ^ Samuel, Sigal (19 February 2020). "Everywhere basic income has been tried, in one map". Vox. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ Van Parijs, Philippe (1 June 2013). "The Universal Basic Income: Why Utopian Thinking Matters, and How Sociologists Can Contribute to It*". Politics & Society. 41 (2): 171–182. doi:10.1177/0032329213483106. ISSN 0032-3292. S2CID 220676097. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Bregman, Rutger (5 March 2017). Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-9025-7. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Tipurić, Darko; Garača, Željko; Krajnović, Ana (2020). "Univerzalni temeljni dohodak". Ekonomski Pregled (in Croatian). 71 (6): 632–656. doi:10.32910/ep.71.6.4. ISSN 0424-7558. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Sudan's basic income scheme aims to ease economic pain". Reuters. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ Matthews, Dylan (20 July 2017). "The 2 most popular critiques of basic income are both wrong". Vox. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Employment". SEED. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
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