The notion of implementing Universal Basic Incomes is one of the hottest topics in 21st century politics.
From a national referendum in Switzerland to Andrew Yang’s entire presidential campaign in the US, talks about the policy are sparking across the globe.
Germany joins the growing rank of nations who are experimenting with basic income. Researchers have launched a social experiment in which 120 people are given around $1400 that they can use for whatever purpose they wish to.
By comparing this group with a larger control group of 1,380 people who are not given the money, researchers wish to understand how providing basic income can change or alter the way people behave. Operated via donations, this experiment is set to last for 3 years as of now.
Like all things these days, Covid-19 kickstarted and really sparked the conversation about basic income, especially in Europe. A majority of the famously conservative German population agreed with the idea, while Spain already announced introductory measures.
In an interview with the German press, the organizer explained why he decided to conduct this experiment. Jurgen Schupp said that both sides on this issue have relied on mere talking points and cliches without empirical evidence to support their reasonings.
To be exact, Schupp argued that while one side praises the idea by saying that this income will provide a financial core for people to pursue their happiness to a fuller extent, others talk about how it would discourage everyone from trying their best to find a job and innovate.
He said that it felt like it was time that someone stepped up to the debate to see if either of their arguments are actually true. He said he wanted to expand the scale of the experiment to a million participants by November.
Schupp added that he wants people from across the economic spectrum to participate so that the researchers can understand how basic income may affect different people in different ways. It will also allow them to find a more comparable counterpart to observe the effects.
As of now, one of the most notable social experiments with basic income was conducted in Finland between 2017 and 2018. After providing 2,000 unemployed people $660 a month, the researchers concluded that it did not encourage them to find a job but helped with mental health.
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Replaced!