The Ethics and Economics of the Basic Income Guarantee

Description

Governments in the US, the UK and other nations around the world routinely consider and, in some cases, experiment with reforms of their income support systems. The basic income guarantee, a universal unconditional income grant, has received increasing attention from scholars as an alternative to the kinds of reforms that have been implemented. This book explores the political, sociological, economic, and philosophical issues of the basic income guarantee. Tracing the history of the idea, from its origins in the late eighteenth century through its political vogue in the 1970s, when the Family Assistance Plan narrowly missed passage in the US Congress, it also examines the philosophical debate over the issue. The book is designed to foster a climate of ideas amongst those specifically interested in the income support policies and more widely for those concerned with public, welfare and labour economics. Its coverage will enable readers to obtain an in depth grounding in the topic, regardless of their position in the debate. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Foreword Acknowledgments 1 An Introduction to the Basic Income Guarantee PART ONE: HISTORY 2 In the Shadow of Speenhamland: Social Policy and the Old Poor Law 3 Inheritance and Equal Shares: Early American Views 4 The Guaranteed Income Movement of the 1960s and 1970s 5 A Retrospective on the Negative Income Tax Experiments: Looking Back at the Most Innovate Field Studies in Social Policy PART TWO: DEBATE 6 Basic Income in the United States: Redefining Citizenship in the Liberal State 7 Basic Income, Liberal Neutrality, Socialism, and Work 8 Does She Exploit or Doesn't She? 13 9 Perhaps There Can Be Too Much Freedom PART THREE: EVIDENCE 10 Income Guarantees and the Equity-Efficiency Tradeoff 11 Have the 1996 Welfare Reforms and Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit Eliminated the Need for a Basic Income Guarantee in the United States? 12 Back to Work Incentives in a Dynamic Perspective: An Application to French Labor Markets 13 Social Minima in Europe: The Risks of Cumulating Income-Sources PART FOUR: PROPOSALS 14 The Political Economy of the Basic Income Grant in South Africa 15 The Approval of the Basic Income Guarantee in Brazil 16 The Basic Income Guarantee in Europe: The Belgian and Dutch Back Door Strategies 17 The Cost of Eliminating Poverty in Canada: Basic Income With an Income Test Twist 18 Can a Negative Income Tax System for the United Kingdom be Both Equitable and Affordable? Index