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Research papers on Universal basic income

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  1. Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution

    Daron Acemoğlu, Simon Johnson, Robinson James · 2001 · National Bureau of Economic Research · 2,544 citations

    Among countries colonized by European powers during the past 500 years, those that were relatively rich in 1500 are now relatively poor. We document this reversal using data on urbanization patterns and population density, which, we argue, proxy for economic prosperity. This reversal weighs against a view that links economic development to geographic factors. Instead, we argue that the reversal ree ects changes in the institutions resulting from European colonialism. The European intervention appears to have created an “ institutional reversal” among these societies, meaning that Europeans were more likely to introduce institutions encouraging investment in regions that were previously poor.

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  4. The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment: Evidence from the First Year*

    Amy Finkelstein, Sarah Taubman, Bill Wright, et al. · 2012 · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · 1,672 citations

    In 2008, a group of uninsured low-income adults in Oregon was selected by lottery to be given the chance to apply for Medicaid. This lottery provides an opportunity to gauge the effects of expanding access to public health insurance on the health care use, financial strain, and health of low-income adults using a randomized controlled design. In the year after random assignment, the treatment group selected by the lottery was about 25 percentage points more likely to have insurance than the control group that was not selected. We find that in this first year, the treatment group had substantively and statistically significantly higher health care utilization (including primary and preventive

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  5. Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study

    Timothy Roberton, Emily D Carter, Victoria B. Chou, et al. · 2020 · The Lancet Global Health · 1,485 citations

    BACKGROUND: While the COVID-19 pandemic will increase mortality due to the virus, it is also likely to increase mortality indirectly. In this study, we estimate the additional maternal and under-5 child deaths resulting from the potential disruption of health systems and decreased access to food. METHODS: We modelled three scenarios in which the coverage of essential maternal and child health interventions is reduced by 9·8-51·9% and the prevalence of wasting is increased by 10-50%. Although our scenarios are hypothetical, we sought to reflect real-world possibilities, given emerging reports of the supply-side and demand-side effects of the pandemic. We used the Lives Saved Tool to estimate

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  7. Universal Basic Incomes versus Targeted Transfers: Anti-Poverty Programs in Developing Countries

    Rema Hanna, Benjamin Olken · 2018 · The Journal of Economic Perspectives · 293 citations

    Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals articulated by the United Nations, number one is the elimination of extreme poverty by 2030. While future economic growth should continue to reduce poverty, it will not solve the problem by itself; thus, there is a potentially important role for national-level transfer programs that assist poor families in developing countries. Such programs are often run by developing country governments. Many countries have implemented transfer programs that seek to target beneficiaries: that is, to identify who is poor and then to restrict transfers to those individuals. Some people have begun to advocate for “universal basic income” programs, which dispense with tr

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  8. Universal Basic Income in the United States and Advanced Countries

    Hilary Hoynes, Jesse Rothstein · 2019 · Annual Review of Economics · 250 citations

    We discuss the potential role of universal basic incomes (UBIs) in advanced countries. A feature of advanced economies that distinguishes them from developing countries is the existence of well-developed, if often incomplete, safety nets. We develop a framework for describing transfer programs that is flexible enough to encompass most existing programs as well as UBIs, and we use this framework to compare various UBIs to the existing constellation of programs in the United States. A UBI would direct much larger shares of transfers to childless, nonelderly, nondisabled households than existing programs, and much more to middle-income rather than poor households. A UBI large enough to increase

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  9. Universal Basic Income in the Developing World

    Abhijit Banerjee, Paul Niehaus, Tavneet Suri · 2019 · Annual Review of Economics · 195 citations

    Should developing countries give all of their citizens enough money to live on? Interest in this idea has grown enormously in recent years, reflecting both positive results from a number of existing cash transfer programs and dissatisfaction with the perceived limitations of piecemeal, targeted approaches to reducing extreme poverty. We discuss what we know (and what we do not) about three questions: what recipients would likely do with the incremental income, whether this would unlock further economic growth, and whether giving the money to everyone (as opposed to targeting it) would be wise.

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  10. The public health effects of interventions similar to basic income: a scoping review

    Marcia Gibson, W. Hearty, P. Craig · 2020 · The Lancet. Public Health · 166 citations

    Summary Universal, unconditional basic income is attracting increasing policy and academic interest. Income is a key health determinant, and a basic income could affect health through its effect on other determinants, such as employment. However, there is little evidence of its potential effects on public health, because no studies of interventions which meet the definition of basic income have been done. However, there is evidence from studies of interventions with similarities to basic income. Therefore, we aimed to identify these studies and to consider what can be learned from them about the potential effects of such interventions on health and socioeconomic outcomes. We did a systematic

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  11. Exploring Universal Basic Income: A Guide to Navigating Concepts, Evidence, and Practices

    U. Gentilini, M. Grosh, Jamele Rigolini, et al. · 2019 · World Bank Publications · 161 citations

    Universal basic income (UBI) is emerging as one of the most hotly debated issues in development and social protection policy. But what are the features of UBI? What is it meant to achieve? How do we know, and what don’t we know, about its performance? What does it take to implement it in practice? Drawing from global evidence, literature, and survey data, this volume provides a framework to elucidate issues and trade-offs in UBI with a view to help inform choices around its appropriateness and feasibility in different contexts. Specifically, the book examines how UBI differs from or complements other social assistance programs in terms of objectives, coverage, incidence, adequacy, incentives

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  12. The mental health effects of a Universal Basic Income: A synthesis of the evidence from previous pilots.

    Naomi Wilson, S. McDaid · 2021 · Social science & medicine · 75 citations

    INTRODUCTION Amongst its advocates, one of the key arguments for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is its potential to improve population mental health. However, while previous authors have variously examined the potential effects of UBI on income, employment and labour market demand, the direct mental health consequences of previous pilots have been less frequently examined. The purpose of this paper is therefore to conduct a review of the literature on UBI and to re-examine the existing research with a mental health focus. METHODS Six electronic databases were used to conduct a review of the literature. We searched for empirical research studies of any design, conducted since the year 2000

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  14. Is There Empirical Evidence on How the Implementation of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) Affects Labour Supply? A Systematic Review

    Manuela A. de Paz-Báñez, María José Asensio-Coto, Celia Sánchez-López, et al. · 2020 · Sustainability · 39 citations

    The objective of this article is to determine, as conclusively as possible, if the implementation of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) would lead to a significant reduction in the working age population labour supply. If this were true, implementation of a UBI may not be sustainable. To do this, we will compile empirical evidence from studies over the last few decades on the effects of implementation of a UBI on employment. We apply the PRISMA methodology to better judge their validity, which ensures maximum reliability of the results by avoiding biases and making the work reproducible. Given that the methodologies used in these studies are diverse, they are reviewed to contextualize the result

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  15. Designing trials of Universal Basic Income for health impact: identifying interdisciplinary questions to address.

    M. Johnson, E. Johnson, D. Nettle, et al. · 2020 · Journal of public health · 38 citations

    BACKGROUND A large body of evidence indicates the importance of upstream determinants to health. Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been suggested as an upstream intervention capable of promoting health by affecting material, biopsychosocial and behavioural determinants. Calls are emerging across the political spectrum to introduce an emergency UBI to address socioeconomic insecurity. However, although existing studies indicate effects on health through cash transfers, UBI schemes have not previously been designed specifically to promote health. METHODS In this article, we scope the existing literature to set out a set of interdisciplinary research challenges to address in designing a trial

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  16. Universal basic education and the vulnerability to poverty: evidence from compulsory education in rural China

    Yuping Yang, Xiaodong Guo · 2020 · Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy · 26 citations

    Abstract This article studies the effects of universal basic education on the vulnerability to poverty in rural China while exploring this mechanism from a capability perspective. A regression-discontinuity design based on the implementation of compulsory education is used to identify the effects with household data. We find that compulsory education has significantly reduced the vulnerability to poverty by popularizing basic education in rural China. Regarding the mechanism itself, vulnerability to structural poverty is the primary source of vulnerability in rural China. Universal basic education’s effect on reducing vulnerability to structural poverty is larger than that on reducing vulner

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  17. Exploring the Health Case for Universal Basic Income: Evidence from GPs Working with Precarious Groups

    Matthew Johnson, Dan Degerman, Robert Geyer · 2019 · Basic Income Studies · 19 citations

    Abstract This article draws upon clinical experience of GPs working in a deprived area of the North East of England to examine the potential contribution of Universal Basic Income to health by mitigating ‘patient-side barriers’ among three cohorts experiencing distinct forms of ‘precariousness’: 1) long-term unemployed welfare recipients with low levels of education (lumpenprecariat); 2) workers on short-term/zero-hours contracts with low levels of education (‘lower’ precariat); 3) workers on short-term/zero-hours contracts with relatively high levels of education (‘upper’ precariat). We argue that any benefits must be accompanied by robust institutions capable of promoting

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  18. What role do young people believe Universal Basic Income can play in supporting their mental health?

    E. Johnson, Hannah Webster, J. Morrison, et al. · 2023 · Journal of Youth Studies · 10 citations

    ABSTRACT The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds in England reporting a longstanding mental health condition increased almost 10-fold between 1995 and 2014. Studies demonstrate an association between income and anxiety and depression, with bi-directional effects. There is also emerging evidence that cash transfers may mitigate, prevent or delay those conditions. This article presents qualitative data exploring the relationship between income and anxiety and depression and the prospective impact of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a public health measure. Data was gathered from citizen engagement workshops with 28 young people aged 14–22 from Bradford, England. We present four findings: (i) part

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  19. Prospective Health Impacts of a Universal Basic Income: Evidence from Community Engagement in South Tyneside, United Kingdom

    Neil Howard, Grace Gregory, E. Johnson, et al. · 2024 · International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services · 9 citations

    Studies have suggested that universal basic income (UBI) has the capacity to have substantial health benefits across the population at national level. Multiple impact pathways have recently been theorized and there are calls for trials to explore these pathways empirically. However, very limited research has taken place at local levels to explore potential context-specific effects, or how these effects could play out in economic, social, and behavioral changes. In order to examine these effects and to think through potential issues and unintended consequences, we brought together citizen engagement groups in Jarrow, South Tyneside, in the northeast of England to explore local people's expect

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  20. The revolution will not be randomized: Universal basic income, randomized controlled trials, and ‘evidence-based’ social policy

    Malte Neuwinger · 2021 · Global Social Policy · 8 citations

    Organizations in various countries have launched large-scale randomized field experiments to evaluate the empirical effects of basic income. Surprisingly, scholars have paid only scarce attention to the way basic income experiments are actually run. To address this shortcoming, I present three case studies of basic income experiments in the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. I ask: Why do experiments’ designs only remotely resemble the ‘paradigmatic’ model of basic income they are in fact interested in – universal, unconditional, individual payments, no means tests, and no work requirements? Interviewed researchers identify three types of constraints that prevent basic income experim

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  21. Caring Revolutionary Transformation: Combined Effects of a Universal Basic Income and a Public Model of Care

    Zuzana Uhde · 2018 · Basic Income Studies · 7 citations

    Abstract This paper explores the possibilities of the recognition and valuation of care by implementing an unconditional basic income (UBI) and presents a feminist redefinition of the concept of a UBI. The author proposes the notion of a caring revolutionary transformation as a process of institutionalising the social and economic conditions for recognition of care which is a cornerstone of struggles for women’s emancipation and gender equity. It is a process of practically realisable transformative steps which together with their combined and mutually reinforcing effects enable more radical social changes beyond

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  22. La Renta Básica Universal basada en la evidencia

    Alberto Tena Camporesi · 2018 · Política y Sociedad · 7 citations

    The different pilot projects of Universal Basic Income (UBI) that have been implemented all over the world have raised an intense interest in Europe, both for the data they gathered and for their theoretical implications. This article analyzes the empirical evidence and the different models of experimentation that have been at work in UBI policies, with the aim to measure to what extent they are capable of offering a certain amount of predictability on UBI social impact. In order to do it, the intention, design and results obtained from different pilot projects and experimental models over time and in different countries are thouroughly analysed. In broad terms, we find that none of these ex

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  23. Politics of Universal and Unconditional Cash Transfer: Examining Attitudes Toward Universal Basic Income

    Soomi Lee · 2021 · Basic Income Studies · 6 citations

    Abstract Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a periodic cash payment to all residents in a jurisdiction, without obligation. Universalism and unconditionality distinguish UBI from other redistributive policies that require means testing and certain behaviors to gain and maintain eligibility. Despite an increased interest in UBI, it is poorly understood how these two critical features – universalism and unconditionality – influence public attitudes toward UBI. This paper explores results of the eighth round of the European Social Survey and finds that people who support unconditionality are more likely to support UBI, as expected. But support for UBI is also significantly associ

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  24. Does informing citizens about the non-meritocratic nature of inequality bolster support for a universal basic income? Evidence from a population-based survey experiment

    Thijs Lindner, J. Mijs, W. de Koster, et al. · 2023 · European Societies · 5 citations

    ABSTRACT Despite citizens’ precarization and policymakers’ enthusiasm for a universal basic income (UBI), this alternative to targeted welfare has, curiously, received limited popular support. We theorize that this is due to people overestimating society's meritocratic nature. Accordingly, we field a randomized survey experiment with a representative sample of the Dutch population (n = 1,630) to investigate the impact of information provision about the non-meritocratic nature of wealth and ethnic inequality on support for a UBI. Informed by extant research indicating that citizens respond differently to the same information because of material circumstances or different worldviews, we furthe

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