Financing Basic Income

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction: Financing Approaches to Basic Income

   • Richard Pereira

   Pages 1-5

3. Foundations for a Basic Income Guarantee

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

      PDF

   2. The Cost of Universal Basic Income: Public Savings and Programme Redundancy Exceed Cost

      • Richard Pereira

      Pages 9-45

4. Cost Feasibility of Basic Income in Europe

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 47-47

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   2. Financing Basic Income in Switzerland, and an Overview of the 2016 Referendum Debates

      • Albert Jörimann

      Pages 49-74

5. Building Up BIG

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 75-75

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   2. Total Economic Rents of Australia as a Source for Basic Income

      • Gary Flomenhoft

      Pages 77-100

   3. Conclusion

      • Richard Pereira

      Pages 101-106

6. Back Matter

   Pages 107-116

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This Palgrave Pivot argues that basic income at a decent level is, in fact, affordable. The contributors approach the topic from the perspectives of three different countries—Canada, Switzerland, and Australia—to overcome objections that a universal program to keep all citizens above the poverty line would be too expensive to implement. They assess the complex array of revenue sources that can make universal basic income feasible, from the underestimated value of public program redundancies to new and so far unaccounted publicly owned assets.

• citizen's income
• labor standards
• public programs
• welfare
• income support

“This short book is a useful contribution to the field, because it sets an agenda for further study of the funding methods proposed.” (Chemistry World, chemistryworld.com, January, 2018) “This book is ambitious, and definitely fills a gap that has existed for a long time in the literature on basic income.  It can be considered a seminal contribution to the field.  As a result of its pioneering nature, it should become a reference on the subject.” (Thibault Laurentjoye, EHESS Paris – PSL Research University, France)

“This is a very valuable project that will make a critically important contribution to the literature on basic income. By moving from general principles to the question of implementation in a well-researched and empirically sound manner, this book shifts the debate toward more practical considerations at a time when there is renewed interest in the idea.  The authors tackle the issue head on of how to fund a basic income.”  (Laurent Dobuzinskis, Simon Fraser University, Canada)

• University of Birmingham , Birmingham, United Kingdom

  Richard Pereira

Richard Pereira is Doctoral Researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK, and was formerly an economist with the House of Commons in Canada. 



Contributors




Albert Jörimann, Basic Income Earth Network, Switzerland



Gary Flomenhoft, University of Vermont, USA; University of Queensland, Australia

Policies and ethics