View source for Basic income experiments around the world

'''Basic income experiments around the world''' are trials and natural experiments that give people regular cash with few or no conditions, then measure what happens to work, health, debt, and wellbeing. Since the late 1960s, governments, researchers, tribal nations, and nonprofits have tested versions of the idea in North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Most were pilots for a limited group and a limited time, so they inform the debate about [[Income|income]] support without settling it. This page summarizes major studies, common findings, limits, and delivery models. It is informational only and is not financial advice or a political endorsement.

== Summary table ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Place !! Years !! Who received !! Amount !! Design !! Main findings
|-
| Manitoba, Canada (Mincome) || 1974 to 1979 || Families in Winnipeg and the town of Dauphin || Income guarantee || Field experiment with a saturation site in Dauphin || Lower hospitalization in Dauphin, especially for mental health and injuries<ref name="forget" />
|-
| United States (negative income tax) || 1968 to 1982 || Low income families in four experiments || Guarantees tied to the poverty line || Randomized field experiments || Modest reductions in hours worked<ref name="aspe" /><ref name="nitw" />
|-
| Alaska, United States || 1982 to present || All eligible residents || Annual dividend, varies by year || Permanent dividend from a state fund || No effect on employment; part time work rose 1.8 points<ref name="pfd" /><ref name="alaska" />
|-
| Eastern Band of Cherokee, North Carolina || 1996 onward || Tribal members || Share of casino profits, paid twice a year || Natural experiment within a long-term child study || Fewer behavioral symptoms in children whose families left poverty<ref name="costello" />
|-
| Otjivero-Omitara, Namibia || 2008 to 2009, later bridging payments || All residents of the settlement || N$100 per person per month || Community-wide pilot || Results reported by the organizers; see text<ref name="bien" />
|-
| Madhya Pradesh, India || About 12 to 17 months, final survey 2012 || Over 6,000 individuals in villages || 200 rupees per adult and 100 per child, later 300 and 150 || Village-level trial with control villages || Better child nutrition and school attendance<ref name="unicef" />
|-
| Kenya (GiveDirectly) || 2018 onward || Adults in about 200 villages || 22.50 US dollars per month, or a 500 dollar lump sum || Randomized, three arms plus control || More enterprise and earnings; no drop in work<ref name="gd" />
|-
| Finland || 2017 to 2018 || 2,000 unemployed people aged 25 to 58 || 560 euros per month || National randomized trial || No first-year employment effect; better wellbeing<ref name="kela" />
|-
| Stockton, California || 2019 to 2021 || 125 residents || 500 dollars per month for 24 months || Randomized demonstration || Less income volatility, better mental health<ref name="seed" />
|-
| Illinois and Texas (OpenResearch) || 2020 to 2023 || 1,000 recipients, 2,000 controls || 1,000 dollars per month (controls 50) || Randomized controlled trial || Small drop in work, short-lived stress relief, more spending<ref name="or" /><ref name="nber-emp" />
|-
| Germany (Mein Grundeinkommen pilot) || Three years || 122 people, 1,580 controls || 1,200 euros per month || Randomized study with DIW Berlin || Recipients kept working; better mental health<ref name="mg" />
|-
| Ontario, Canada || 2017 to 2018 || 4,000 participants in three regions || Monthly payments || Planned three-year pilot, cancelled early || Ended before a full evaluation<ref name="guardian" />
|}

== Experiments ==
=== Mincome in Manitoba ===
Mincome ran in Manitoba between 1974 and 1979 with families in Winnipeg and the rural town of Dauphin. Dauphin was a saturation site, meaning every eligible family in town could take part. The project ended with no final report. Decades later, economist Evelyn Forget used health administration records and found a decline in hospitalization in Dauphin, especially for admissions related to mental health and to accidents and injuries.<ref name="forget">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126003728/http://public.econ.duke.edu/~erw/197/forget-cea%20%282%29.pdf |title=The town with no poverty |author=Evelyn L. Forget}}</ref>

=== Negative income tax experiments in the United States ===
Between 1968 and 1982, the US government sponsored four large income maintenance experiments, starting in New Jersey with 1,357 families and ending with the Seattle and Denver experiment. Their main purpose was to measure how much a guaranteed income would reduce paid work. Reductions were real but modest; summaries describe husbands reducing work by about two weeks of full-time employment per year, with larger reductions for wives and youth.<ref name="aspe">{{cite web |url=https://www.aspe.hhs.gov/reports/overview-final-report-seattle-denver-income-maintenance-experiment |title=Overview of the final report of the Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment |publisher=ASPE}}</ref><ref name="nitw">{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_income_tax |title=Negative income tax |publisher=Wikipedia}}</ref>

=== Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend ===
Since 1982, Alaska residents have received a yearly dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund, a state savings fund built from oil revenue.<ref name="pfd">{{cite web |url=https://pfd.alaska.gov/ |title=Permanent Fund Dividend Division |publisher=State of Alaska}}</ref> Damon Jones and Ioana Marinescu found that the dividend had no effect on overall employment and raised part-time work by 1.8 percentage points. They suggest that extra local spending may support jobs.<ref name="alaska">{{cite web |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w24312 |title=The labor market impacts of universal and permanent cash transfers |publisher=NBER}}</ref>

=== Eastern Band of Cherokee casino dividend ===
In 1996 a casino opened on the reservation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and every tribal member began receiving a share of the profits. E. Jane Costello and colleagues were already following 1,420 rural children in the Great Smoky Mountains Study. About 14 percent of families moved out of poverty. Within four years, behavioral symptoms among children in those families fell to the level of never-poor children. Anxiety and depression symptoms did not change.<ref name="costello">{{cite web |url=https://today.duke.edu/2003/10/stress1016.html |title=Relief of poverty linked to improvement in some childhood psychiatric symptoms |publisher=Duke Today}}</ref><ref name="costello2">{{cite web |url=https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/757769 |title=Relationships between poverty and psychopathology: a natural experiment |publisher=Scholars at Duke}}</ref>

=== Otjivero basic income grant in Namibia ===
A coalition of churches, unions, and civil society groups started a basic income grant in the Otjivero-Omitara settlement in 2008. Every resident received 100 Namibian dollars per month without conditions. The pilot ran from 2008 to 2009, followed by smaller bridging payments, and payments resumed in 2014.<ref name="bien">{{cite web |url=https://basicincome.org/news/2014/07/namibia-basic-income-program-returns-to-otjivero/ |title=Namibia: basic income program returns to Otjivero |publisher=Basic Income Earth Network}}</ref> The organizers reported gains in nutrition, schooling, and small business, but those claims come from the project team and lack an independent control group.

=== Madhya Pradesh pilot in India ===
The Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and UNICEF ran two pilots in Madhya Pradesh, a general pilot and a tribal pilot. Over 6,000 people received small monthly payments for between a year and 17 months, compared against control villages. Researchers reported improvements in child nutrition, including for girls, and in school attendance.<ref name="unicef">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905121525/http://unicef.in/Uploads/Publications/Resources/pub_doc83.pdf |title=A little more, how much it makes: unconditional cash transfers in Madhya Pradesh |publisher=UNICEF India and SEWA}}</ref>

=== GiveDirectly long-term study in Kenya ===
GiveDirectly and researchers assigned about 200 Kenyan villages to a 12-year basic income, a 2-year basic income, a one-time lump sum, or a control group, beginning in 2018. Two-year results showed that recipients invested, started businesses, and earned more, without working less or drinking more. The lump sum and the long-term guarantee outperformed the short-term version.<ref name="gd">{{cite web |url=https://www.givedirectly.org/2023-ubi-results/ |title=Early findings from the world's largest UBI study |publisher=GiveDirectly}}</ref>

=== Finland 2017 to 2018 ===
Finland's social insurance institution, Kela, paid 2,000 unemployed people aged 25 to 58 a monthly 560 euros, unconditionally and without means testing. In the first year, employment was no better or worse than in the control group. Recipients reported fewer stress symptoms, fewer health problems, and more confidence in the future.<ref name="kela">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719081615/https://www.kela.fi/web/en/basic-income-experiment |title=Basic income experiment |publisher=Kela}}</ref>

=== Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration ===
The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) launched in February 2019 and gave 125 randomly selected residents 500 dollars a month for 24 months. Its first-year findings report reduced month-to-month income volatility, less depression and anxiety, and movement into full-time work.<ref name="seed">{{cite web |url=https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/ |title=Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration |publisher=SEED}}</ref>

=== OpenResearch unconditional cash study ===
OpenResearch gave 1,000 low-income adults in Illinois and Texas 1,000 dollars a month for three years, from 2020 to 2023, while 2,000 controls received 50 dollars.<ref name="or">{{cite web |url=https://www.openresearchlab.org/studies/unconditional-cash-study |title=Unconditional cash study |publisher=OpenResearch}}</ref> Results released in 2024 showed a 4.2 point drop in labor market participation and 1 to 2 fewer work hours per week.<ref name="nber-emp">{{cite web |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w32719 |title=The employment effects of a guaranteed income |publisher=NBER}}</ref> Stress and food insecurity improved strongly but briefly, and health care use rose.<ref name="nber-health">{{cite web |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w32711 |title=Does income affect health? |publisher=NBER}}</ref> Spending rose by at least 300 dollars a month, and credit scores improved, but net worth barely changed.<ref name="nber-cons">{{cite web |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w32784 |title=The impact of unconditional cash transfers on consumption and household balance sheets |publisher=NBER}}</ref>

=== Mein Grundeinkommen pilot in Germany ===
The donation-funded pilot, run with the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), paid 122 people 1,200 euros per month for three years and compared them with 1,580 people who received nothing. The project reports that recipients kept working and showed better satisfaction and mental health.<ref name="mg">{{cite web |url=https://www.pilotprojekt-grundeinkommen.de/ |title=Pilotprojekt Grundeinkommen |publisher=Mein Grundeinkommen}}</ref>

=== Ontario basic income pilot ===
Ontario launched a planned three-year, 150 million Canadian dollar pilot in 2017 with 4,000 participants in three regions. A newly elected provincial government cancelled it in 2018, so no full evaluation was completed.<ref name="guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/01/ontarios-new-conservative-government-to-end-basic-income-experiment |title=Ontario's new government to end basic income experiment |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref>

== Common findings ==
Across very different places, several patterns repeat. Large drops in work have not appeared; effects range from none (Alaska, Finland in year one, Kenya) to modest reductions (US negative income tax trials, OpenResearch). Mental wellbeing and stress usually improve, although OpenResearch found the gains faded after the first year. Children often benefit, as seen in Cherokee and Madhya Pradesh. Fears about spending on alcohol have not been supported in Kenya.

== Limits and open questions ==
Most pilots paid only a sample of people rather than everyone, so they cannot show what happens when a whole economy receives cash, including possible effects on prices and inflation. Many ran for two or three years, and people may act differently when they know payments will end. Funding is the largest open question: a pilot paid by donors or a research budget says little about the taxes, fund returns, or program cuts a permanent scheme would need. Some results come from organizers rather than independent evaluators, and some studies overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic and its relief payments.

== Delivery models ==
The evidence above came through several delivery channels, and each has tradeoffs.
* '''Government checks.''' Finland and Ontario used public agencies. This approach can reach large populations but depends on budgets and changes of government, as the Ontario cancellation showed.
* '''Dividends from shared funds.''' Alaska and the Cherokee casino share returns from a common asset. Payments track fund performance and can be durable, but they require a large asset.
* '''Nonprofit-run programs.''' GiveDirectly, SEED, OpenResearch, and Mein Grundeinkommen were funded by donors and run by nonprofits. They allow rigorous testing but are limited in scale.
* '''Credit union or nonprofit networks.''' One idea, still largely untested, is a semi-private basic income delivered through networks of credit unions or community nonprofits, perhaps funded by a mix of public grants, donations, and member pools. The Madhya Pradesh pilot gave a small hint, since payments for some women went into a SEWA cooperative account. Supporters see local trust, financial coaching, and low fees; open questions include coverage gaps, fairness between regions, and stable funding.

== What the evidence means for everyday life ==
Studies suggest that small, reliable cash mainly buys breathing room. Stockton recipients saw steadier monthly income, and Finnish recipients reported less financial stress. Predictable money can help a person spend time searching for a better job or start a small business, as in Kenya. Effects on debt are mixed: OpenResearch recipients gained credit score points but took on more debt, so net worth hardly moved. Health effects appear first in stress and food security, while physical health markers may not change within a few years. For households, the lesson is that predictability matters as much as size.

==Discussion questions, essay ideas, and learning related AI prompt ideas==
'''Discussion questions'''
* Why might a 12-year guarantee change behavior more than a 2-year payment of the same monthly size?
* What can a pilot that pays a sample of people tell us, and what can it not tell us, about a universal program?
* How should researchers weigh results reported by organizers against independent evaluations?

'''Essay ideas'''
* Compare the Alaska dividend and the Finland experiment as two different ways to deliver regular cash.
* Assess what Mincome hospital records suggest about income security and health.
* Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of delivering basic income through credit unions or nonprofit networks.

'''Learning related AI prompt ideas'''
* Explain the difference between a negative income tax and a universal basic income using simple numbers.
* Summarize the design of the Kenya basic income study and why it uses several treatment groups.
* List the main ways a basic income could be funded and the tradeoffs of each.

== See also ==
* [[Income|Income]]
* [[Strategies for negligible engineered misery|Strategies for negligible engineered misery]]
* [[Collaborative learning economy for humans and agents|Collaborative learning economy for humans and agents]]
* [[Opportunity engineering|Opportunity engineering]]
* [[Areas of research and study to develop|Areas of research and study to develop]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Basic income]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Social policy]]