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

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soomi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Means Testing ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Cash Payment ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfer

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 associated with a desire to help the poor rather than provide universal cash transfers to all individuals.

scholarly journals Introduction: Basic Income in European Welfare States: Opportunities and Constraints

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgen De Wispelaere ◽  
Louise Haagh
Keyword(s):  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Work Requirement ◽  
The World ◽  
Pipe Dream ◽  
Income Assistance ◽  
Permanent Residents

In the space of a mere five years, basic income has become something of a global policy phenomenon. The proposal to grant all permanent residents of a political territory a regular cash transfer on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement (Van Parijs and Vanderborght, 2017) is actively discussed at the highest levels of policy-making across the world, including by international institutions such as OECD, IMF or the World Bank. At the same time, several country surveys indicate the basic income idea is gaining considerable traction amongst the general public, with support for basic income in the latest wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) averaging slightly above 50 per cent (Lee, 2018). This suggests basic income has now firmly moved away from a mere ‘philosophical pipe dream’ to being considered as a serious alternative to conditional income assistance (Van Parijs, 2013; Haagh, 2017).

Pilot projects and experiments

2018 ◽  
pp. 127-144
Author(s):  
Malcolm Torry
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Project ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Cash Payment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Transfers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfers

This chapter describes a number of Citizen's Basic Income pilot projects and other experiments. It first considers the social dividend (a form of Citizen's Basic Income) distributed in Alaska, known as Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. The dividend has increased personal income, and therefore consumption and employment. The chapter then turns to Iran's cash transfer programme, which replaced subsidies on food and fuel with an unconditional cash payment of about US$40 per month to every individual. It then examines the pilot project in Namibia, which disproved the critics of unconditional cash transfers. It also discusses the pilot projects in India, and in particular the establishment of an unconditional cash benefit as an entirely pragmatic measure; social transfers in Latin America and elsewhere; and several experiments at various stages of planning or implementation. Finally, it asks whether it is possible to launch a Citizen's Basic Income pilot project in the UK.

scholarly journals Attitudes Toward Universal Basic Income and Welfare State in Europe: A Research Note

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soomi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis research note examines the relationship between public attitudes toward universal basic income (UBI) and country-level socio-economic conditions in 21 European Countries. Despite abundant theoretical and empirical research on UBI, a comparative analysis of public appetite for UBI has been unavailable due to data limitations. This research note takes advantage of the 2016 European Social Survey to explore the connection between public support for UBI and levels of social protection and economic insecurity.

scholarly journals Social Investment, Redistribution or Basic Income? Exploring the Association Between Automation Risk and Welfare State Attitudes in Europe

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
MARIUS R. BUSEMEYER ◽  
ALEXANDER H. J. SAHM
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Investment Policies ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Rapid technological change – the digitalization and automation of work – is challenging contemporary welfare states. Most of the existing research, however, focuses on its effect on labor market outcomes, such as employment or wage levels. In contrast, this paper studies the implications of technological change for welfare state attitudes and preferences. Compared to previous work on this topic, this paper adopts a much broader perspective regarding different kinds of social policy. Using data from the European Social Survey, we find that individual automation risk is positively associated with support for redistribution, but negatively with support for social investment policies (partly depending on the specific measure of automation risk that is used), while there is no statistically significant association with support for basic income. We also find a moderating effect of the overall size of the welfare state on the micro-level association between risk and preferences.

Poverty Relief Programs in Postcommunist Countries: A Case Study on the Albanian and Chinese Programs

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110278
Author(s):  
Gentian Qejvanaj
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Transfer Program ◽  
Means Testing ◽  
Poverty Relief ◽  
Private Expenditure ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Working Age Population ◽  
The Cost

Social assistance is a cash transfer program targeting the poorest households. China has created the Dibao (DB), meaning minimum livelihood guarantee, the most extensive unconditional cash transfer program globally with over 70 million people covered, whereas in Albania, the Ndhime Ekonomike (NE) meaning financial help covers around 15% of the total working-age population. Both programs are means-tested, have strict requirements for eligibility, and have been enlarged and modified in time to improve targeting and tackling leakage. In this article, we will look at similarities and common issues first, and then calculate the cost of enlarging both programs to all working-age population with no means-testing. We argue that a UBI (universal basic income) can increase private expenditure in health and education while costing less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in both countries’ rural areas. We will conclude by looking at how the COVID-19 outbreak is pushing developing countries toward a UBI by first adopting a temporary basic income (TBI).

scholarly journals Cash transfers may increase the no-show rate for surgical patients in low-resource settings: A randomized trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark G Shrime ◽  
Elizabeth A Harter ◽  
Becky Handforth ◽  
Christine L Phillips ◽  
Hendrika W C Bos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Surgical Patients ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Low Resource Settings ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
Resource Setting ◽  
Transfer Group ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfer

Background: Over two-thirds of the world's population cannot access surgery when needed. Interventions to address this gap have primarily focused on surgical training and ministry-level surgical planning. However, patients more commonly cite cost--rather than governance or surgeon availability--as their primary access barrier. We undertook a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effect on compliance with scheduled surgical appointments of addressing this barrier through a cash transfer. Methods: 453 patients who were deemed surgical candidates by a nursing screening team in Guinea, West Africa, were randomized into three study arms: control, conditional cash transfer, and labeled unconditional cash transfer. Arrival to a scheduled surgical appointment was the primary outcome. The study was performed in conjunction with Mercy Ships. Results: The overall no-show rate was five-fold lower in Guinea than previously published estimates, leading to an underpowered study. In a post-hoc analysis, which included non-randomized patients, patients in the control group and the conditional cash transfer group demonstrated no effect from the cash transfer. Patients in the unconditional cash transfer group were significantly less likely to arrive for their scheduled appointment. Subgroup analysis suggested that actual receipt of the unconditional cash transfer, instead of a lapse in the transfer mechanism, was associated with failure to show. Conclusion: We find that cash transfers are feasible for surgical patients in a low-resource setting, but that unconditional transfers may have negative effects on compliance. Although demand-side barriers are large for surgical patients in low-resource settings, interventions to address them must be designed with care.

scholarly journals Model Manajemen Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Metode Simple Additive Weighting untuk Program Bantuan Langsung Tunai di Desa Luwungbata

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Rini Astuti ◽  
Uum Mukaromah
Keyword(s):  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Simple Additive Weighting ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfer

Bantuan Langsung Tunai (cash transfers) atau disingkat BLT adalah program bantuan pemerintah berjenis pemberian uang tunai atau beragam bantuan lainnya, baik bersyarat (conditional cash transfer) maupun tak bersyarat (unconditional cash transfer) untuk masyarakat miskin. BLT di Desa Luwungbata tidak luput dari berbagai kendala seperti kurangnya evaluasi teradap warga sehingga mengakibatkan penyaluran dana bantuan langsung tunai tidak tepat sasaran. Penelitian ini menggunakan model manajemen metode Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) dengan menentukan kriteria-kriteria yang di jadikan acuan dalam pengambilan keputusan yaitu luas bangunan, jenis dinding, jenis lantai, fasilitas buang air, sumber penerangan, bahan bakar, makanan sehari-hari, pakaian, pengobatan dan pendidikan. Hasil proses analisis berupa data keluarga miskin yang berhak menerima BLT. Untuk mengatasi masalah yang ada, diperlukan sebuah sistem yang dapat membantu pengambil keputusan untuk memntukan keluarga yang berhak menerima BLT dengan tepat oleh karena itu di penelitian ini dibangun sistem pendukung keputusan untuk pemberian BLT. Model manajemen sistem pendukung keputusan yang dipakai menggunakan metode SAW dengan bahasa pemrograman PHP dan database MySQL. Pendekatan proses pengembangan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan berorientasi objek dengan tool UML dengan model proses prototyping. Dengan adanya sistem pendukung keputusan ini, dapat mempermudah dan mempercepat pengolahan data serta mempengaruhi kinerja sehingga menjadi lebih optimal. Hasil yang diharapkan adalah tersedianya sistem pendukung keputusan menggunakan metode SAW yang dapat menentukan keluarga miskin yang berhak menerima Bantuan Langsung Tunai sehingga dana bantuan langsung tunai jatuh kepada keluarga yang benar-benar membutuhkan.

What Shapes the Perception of Income Inequality

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67
Author(s):  
G. Monusova
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
Perceptions Of Inequality

The recent economic and sociological literature pays a lot of attention to the issue of income inequality and to preferences for the redistribution. This paper discusses various approaches which pretend to explain what shapes perceptions of income inequality and finally affects preferences for the redistribution. If people in a given country perceive the level of income inequality as too high and unacceptable, they may support various redistributive policies and measures. However, this does not always happen. Perceptions of inequality and preferences for redistribution vary across countries as well as across individuals within countries. The paper overviews existing theoretical and empirical studies and provides their synthesis. In its empirical section, the paper tests a few most frequently mentioned hypotheses. For this, it uses large cross-country data sets from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) and the European Social Survey (ESS) covering 34 and 25 countries, respectively. One of the main findings is that the public attitude towards inequality depends little on the actual level of inequality. What appears to be more important is whether the society provides functioning escalators to individuals for moving up the socio-economic ladder and whether individuals have recently experienced actual upward mobility. What also matters is whether this mobility is considered by public fair and legitimate. This means that is driven by hard work (and is meritocratic) but not by pure luck, or connections, or bribes (is structural). Therefore, the perception of inequality and redistributive demands are largely shaped by dominant views on fairness, social mobility and trust to the state. If individuals see for themselves feasible prospects for advancement and can achieve more in a way they consider fair, they are more likely to tolerate the income inequality and their redistributive claims tend to become weaker. This brings to the forefront the issue of quality of state institutions and institutional environment. The corruption as a measure of the institutional quality emerges a very strong predictor for larger support to redistributive policies.

Basic Human Values and Attitudes Towards a Universal Basic Income in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwangeun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Welfare State Development ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Moderating Role

Abstract This study contributes to the emerging literature on public opinion on a universal basic income (UBI) not only by investigating the role of basic human values in influencing support for UBI but also by examining the moderating role of welfare state development in the association between basic human values and UBI support. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8 in 2016, which has an item asking whether to support UBI and the 21-item measure of human values that is based on the Schwartz theory of basic human values, the results show that individual universalism that is a self-transcendence value is positively and significantly associated with support for UBI, while the other self-transcendence value, benevolence, has a negative relationship with that; the two self-enhancement values, power and achievement, are positively linked to support for UBI. Additionally, in advanced welfare states, people who are more inclined towards individual universalism are more likely to support UBI; by contrast, in underdeveloped welfare states, this relationship is not apparent.

scholarly journals Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers: Implications for Gender

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Levasseur ◽  
Stephanie Paterson ◽  
Nathalia Carvalho Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Policy Goal ◽  
Social Marginalization ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfer

Abstract Solving poverty is a laudable public policy goal. While there are many approaches, one that has gained popularity is the conditional cash transfer that requires recipients to satisfy conditions imposed on them such as requiring regular medical checkups. Another approach, which is gaining interest is unconditional cash transfers that do not impose conditions. The question we ask in this paper is: what do these past and current attempts tell us about the implications for gender? To answer this question, we explore two programs using a gendered framework: Brazil's Bolsa Familia,which is a conditional cash transfer, and Manitoba's Mincome experiment, which was an unconditional cash transfer in Canada. We then consider how this information might be used by states, particularly as it relates to ending social marginalization. Broadly, this research contributes to academic discussions of public policy, income, gender and social vulnerability.

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