Results from rural Kenya are not necessarily applicable to high-income countries. However, there are nearly no similar randomized controlled trial findings of a long-term guaranteed income or a significantly large lump sum in countries like the U.S. While much more expensive in high-income countries, long-term income and large lump sum pilots should be tried and studied to learn if there are better ways to deliver cash that help people build wealth and escape poverty.
Universal Basic Income is the only way to go for our future. Alaska gets payments every year, not a huge amount, but they get some. It has to be enough where people get their basic needs met so they don’t feel obligated to work for slave wages.
From the article
- A monthly universal basic income (UBI) empowered recipients and did not create idleness.
- Both a large lump sum and a long-term UBI (12 years) proved highly effective
- A short-term UBI was the least impactful of the designs but still effective.
To add some more info:
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Sample size was 295 Kenyan villages consisting of 73,511 individuals with a control group of 11,000.
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Only individuals over 18 received payments. Individuals at least 15y.o. were told they would begin receiving payments once they turned 18.
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Money was distributed via mobile cash transfer, to which 96% of Kenyans have access, and which doesn’t require a bank account
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Payments averaged $0.75 per day at a time that maize consumption per capita was $0.60 per day.
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The lump sum payment was equal to 2 years of monthly payments, reduced by 8%.
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The big shift of people on ubi going from wage work to self employment being one of the biggest points of note from this study is interesting. That’s probably a major reason why most US lawmakers would not want ubi.
Something I find interesting is this study didn’t show an increase in hours worked unlike a couple of other smaller studies, that if I recall correctly focused on giving ubi to people who were not currently working.
That’s probably a major reason why most US lawmakers would not want ubi.
Well, it’s the reason their donors don’t want it.
No matter how many studies we do, we can’t implement UBI via incrementalism. So it’s not happening.
