Basic income: debate moves to implementation as Development Pathways points to way forward
28th September 2017: The discussion of basic income is moving from an academic level to a more practical discussion of how to make UBI work in practice. Development Pathways’ representative...
Universal basic income only advances equity through progressive financing, says ILO
5th July: A universal basic income needs progressive financing, not taxing households or depriving them of social benefits, the International Labour Organisation says in a new report on UBI options, including for low-income nations.
Debate over universal basic income steps up as IMF weighs impacts
14th August: An IMF paper has backed universal basic income as a better way of supporting low-income households than existing safety net programmes when these are “inefficient”. The paper, using...
“Growing debate around universality” sees diverging estimates of basic income impacts
3rd September: A “growing debate around universality” in the design of social protection programmes has been acknowledged by a senior economist at the World Bank. His comments come after the...
Why India is right to consider a universal basic income
The concept of a universal basic income is, somewhat surprisingly, receiving renewed attention from the Indian government. In recent interviews, the government’s Chief Economic Advisor, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, has called it an idea that ‘has a lot of promise.’ According to Dr. Subramanian, the next Economic Survey – an important...
India: The Basic Income Experiment
“The extra income created opportunities for people to start improving their lives.” In this Pathways Perspective, Rasmus looks at the effects of a basic income pilot project conducted in the...
Pathways to a universal basic income in low- and middle-income countries
The idea of providing a periodic, unconditional cash transfer to all residents of a country – a universal basic income – has rapidly gained traction in recent years. However, the debate about basic income often seems curiously divorced from the wider debate about the expansion of social security systems, writes...
How Basic Income paves the way to a Social Protection Floor for all
The recent Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress 2018 provided a platform for a fascinating conversation on the convergence between the UBI and the Social Protection Floors debates. Development Pathways Associate Rasmus Schjoedt and I presented preliminary findings on the potential benefits of a progressive introduction of a UBI in...
Who really benefits from poverty-targeting in social protection: the poor or the rich?
Stephen Kidd Asking whether the poor or the rich are the main beneficiaries of poverty-targeting in social protection probably seems like a strange question to many people. On the face of it, the answer appears obvious: surely logic dictates that it must be the poor? Furthermore, it is often assumed...
Webinar reflections: Universal Basic Income in the time of COVID-19 and beyond
Anh Tran offers some reflections on a recent SocialProtection.org webinar: Exploring universal basic income: lessons for COVID-19 response and beyond.