November 2020 newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to the UBI Center email list! This is our first monthly newsletter, recapping our research over the past month, as well as basic-income-related studies from other scholars and UBI news from around the world. We're excited to use this forum to share our work, which in the coming months will include UK simulations, interactive dashboards, and reports on issues like homelessness and labor supply. If you have feedback on the newsletter, feel free to reply to this email or contact me directly.
Max Ghenis
President, UBI Center, on behalf of the UBI Center team
Our research
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How a child allowance would reduce child poverty [US]. We visualize how equal monthly payments for each child, funded by income taxes at the state or federal level, would reduce poverty and inequality. Nate Golden discussed this research in an interview, and Max Ghenis showcased it in a talk at the PyData Global conference.
By Max Ghenis, Nate Golden, John Walker, and Matt Gilbert
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Student debt cancellation is less progressive than universal payments [US]. Across poverty, inequality, and most racial wealth gap measures, and across multiple reform proposals, we find that student debt cancellation would be less progressive than spending the same total amount on universal payments.
By Nate Golden
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A $300-per-month UBI would cut Veteran poverty in half [US]. Our Veteran’s Day post explores how different tax-funded UBI policies would affect veterans.
By Max Ghenis and Nate Golden
Other research
UBI news
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Over 500 MPs, lords, and local councillors ask Chancellor for support to run UBI trials [UK]. The list of signatories spans Labour, Lib Dem, Green, SNP, and other parties, and the councils of Portsmouth (population 240,000) and Lewes (population 17,000) also voted in November to make the requests, joining the councils of Leeds (800,000), Liverpool (500,000), Belfast (280,000), Brighton (230,000) and Norwich (40,000).
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UBI pilot announced to begin in 2021 [South Africa]. 10 residents of a rural town between the ages of 18 and 59 who self-identify as economically excluded will receive R1,200 ($8 US) per month for 18 months. The privately funded program is led by the former leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second largest political party.
- Newfoundland and Labrador legislature passes motion calling to explore UBI pilot [Canada]. The leader of the federal NDP, Canada’s fourth largest political party, backed the NDP-led motion from the province of 520,000.
- Arts and Cultural Recovery Taskforce recommends three-year UBI pilot for artists and cultural workers [Ireland]. The opt-in payment of €325 ($395 US) per week would replace other welfare payments and stack atop earnings unconditionally.
We're seeking research assistants! Our RAs learn to apply policy research, economics, and open source statistical programming to the study of UBI policies. All with interest in UBI policy are welcome to apply, especially those with skills in Python, web development, video production, and media outreach.
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