Universal basic income doesn’t work. Let’s boost the public realm instead | Anna Coote
A study of UBI trials concludes that making cash payments to all is no solution to poverty and inequality
• Anna Coote is co-author of Universal Basic Income: A Union Perspective
A study published this week sheds doubt on ambitious claims made for universal basic income (UBI), the scheme that would give everyone regular, unconditional cash payments that are enough to live on. Its advocates claim it would help to reduce poverty, narrow inequalities and tackle the effects of automation on jobs and income. Research conducted for Public Services International, a global trade union federation, reviewed for the first time 16 practical projects that have tested different ways of distributing regular cash payments to individuals across a range of poor, middle-income and rich countries, as well as copious literature on the topic.
Related: Benefit or burden? The cities trying out universal basic income