The Institute for Social and Economic Research has published new microsimulation research:
Static microsimulation research on Citizen’s Basic Income for the UK: a personal summary and further reflections, by Malcolm Torry
A Citizen’s Basic Income, sometimes called a Basic Income, a Universal Basic Income, or a Citizen’s Income, is an unconditional and nonwithdrawable income paid to every individual. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the results of microsimulation research on Citizen’s Basic Income schemes undertaken by this author during the past fifteen years; to update recent research; and to reflect on the journey taken by that research. The paper explores the ways in which the contemporary policy context and constructive criticism of previous research projects have resulted in changes to the methods employed, discusses ways in which the research has influenced the policy process, and draws comparisons with the work of other microsimulation researchers. The increasingly lively debate on Citizen’s Basic Income has generated a wide variety of questions relating to Citizen’s Basic Income’s feasibility, and the penultimate section of this paper addresses some of the most pressing of those questions. A final section draws lessons from the research journey recounted in this paper, and suggests avenues for future research activity.
To read the working paper, click here.
And now another new working paper on the subject:
A comparison of the fiscal and distributional effects of alternative basic income implementation modes across the EU28, by Luke Martinelli and Kathryn O’Neill:
This paper examines the fiscal and distributional effects of a number of alternative basic income implementation modes across 28 European welfare states. The paper aims to make three contributions to the literature. Firstly, through the use of EUROMOD’s advanced ‘add-on’ and ‘loop’ features, we develop an innovative methodological approach to comparing the effects of revenue neutral basic income reforms across countries. As a consequence, the study is more ambitious in scope than previous basic income microsimulation research. Our second contribution is to generate rich and detailed comparative data regarding the fiscal and distributional effects of different ways of implementing basic income, thus contributing to the burgeoning literature on policy design features and trade-offs. Thirdly, we compare these effects and trade-offs across a large sample of European countries, and thus derive some tentative insights into basic income’s congruence with different types of welfare state.
To read this working paper, click here.