Mending an unequal society

It is in no way a party political statement to suggest that the UK’s referendum vote to leave the European Union, and the USA’s election of Donald Trump as president, are signs of divided and unequal societies. In relation to one of those characteristics, any Citizen’s Income scheme would offer a positive response, because a Citizen’s Income, by definition, would give to the society in which it was implemented an additional means of cohesion. Everyone would receive a Citizen’s Income.

However, there are some Citizen’s Income schemes that would reduce inequality, and some that would exacerbate it. It is therefore incumbent on researchers to ensure that one of the criteria by which Citizen’s Income schemes are evaluated is the extent to which they reduce inequality. The scheme contained in a recent Institute of Social and Economic Research working paper would reduce inequality. That scheme is now available on this website.

Footnotes