What is basic income?
Basic income is a periodic cash payment to everyone, individually, without means testing or work requirements. The Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) lists five features.
📌 At a glance
- Periodic
- Paid at regular intervals
- Cash
- Not in-kind or vouchers
- Individual
- Paid to individuals, not households
- Universal
- No means test
- Unconditional
- No work or job-search requirement
Examples
- Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (since 1982): an annual dividend from oil-funded investments.
- Finland (2017–2018): 2,000 unemployed people aged 25–58 received €560 a month unconditionally. Employment effects were small, but participants reported better well-being than the control group.
The debate
- For: simpler administration, less stigma, fewer gaps in coverage, preparation for automation.
- Against: high cost and taxes, possible work disincentives, less targeting of those in greatest need.
See also universalism vs. selectivism.
Frequently asked questions
- What is basic income?
- A regular, unconditional cash payment to every individual.
- Has basic income been tested?
- Yes, in pilots such as Finland’s 2017–2018 experiment; Alaska’s dividend is a long-running partial example.
References
- Van Parijs, P., & Vanderborght, Y. (2017). Basic income: A radical proposal for a free society and a sane economy. Harvard University Press.
- Kangas, O., Jauhiainen, S., Simanainen, M., & Ylikännö, M. (Eds.). (2021). Experimenting with unconditional basic income: Lessons from the Finnish BI experiment 2017–2018. Edward Elgar.