Y Combinator Basic Income Initiative (USA)

Led by the researcher Elizabeth Rhodes (PhD), Y Combinator Basic Income Initiative is taking a scientific based approach towards testing and evaluating the impact of Basic Income projects. They are conducting studies about: (a) Time use (how people use their time after start receiving the basic income, (b) mental and physical health, (c) subjective wellbeing, (d) financial health, (e) decision making, (f) politics and social behaviour, (g) crime and effect on children. According to their website:

“The gold standard for understanding a new social policy is a randomized controlled trial (RCT). By comparing a group of people who receive a basic income to an otherwise identical group of people who do not, we can isolate and quantify the effects of a basic income. We plan to randomly select individuals across two US states to participate in the study. Roughly half will receive $1,000 a month for up to five years; the rest will serve as a control group for comparison.“

The five year long study began in 2017 and the results will be followed closely by the development community because it will show the impact that a Basic Income program can have in a developed country such as the United States.

Give Directly (Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda):

The american non profit Give Directly is one of the best examples of operational excellence, impact evaluation and transparency. Of every $1 they raise, $0.88 is distributed directly to beneficiaries in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. According to their website:

“We use rigorous experimental research (randomized controlled trials) to measure our impact and answer public policy questions.”. Source: Website.

The last mile delivery of funds is done via electronic cash transfers in networks such as M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money and the recipient just need to have a text message abled phone.

The most interesting thing about Give Directly is how they monitor the possibility of corruption with independent audits and double checks. According to their website:

“The two main corruption risks that typically arise in transfer programs involve (a) manipulation of the list of eligible recipients and (b) diversion of transfers sent to eligible recipients. We address the first through a comprehensive audit process, using multiple independent checks to ensure that recipients are eligible and have not been charged bribes to get on the list. These checks include in-person visits by different staff members, in-person audits by senior management, remote data audits, and phone calls with each recipient, all prioritized using modern analytics. We address the second through identity-matching between our records and those of our payment providers, through comprehensive follow-up calls to ensure money is reaching the intended recipients, and in some cases through direct staff monitoring of cash-out points.”

Programa Bolsa Familia (Brazil):

The “Programa Bolsa Família” is considered the most ambitious and successful income transference program undertaken by a government, according to the United Nations.

In the year 2016, there were 11.1 Million families in Brazil receiving the assistance, which impacted 45 Million individuals. In total, they received R$8.2 Billions (~USD2.21 Billions), which represents approximately 0.4% of the GDP in Brazil.

Payments are made in a monthly basis, to the mother of the family through a debit card and an account that is open in Caixa Econômica Federal (State owned Bank) in her name. The value of the benefits are proportional to the income level of the family and the number of individuals in the household. The condition to receive the benefits are to keep the children in school and give all vaccines.

Despite the international recognition and the reduction in extreme poverty levels, there is also a lot of criticism and inconsistencies detected. For example, there is no effective method to control if the beneficiaries are fulfilling the education and healthcare counterparts. In addition, according to a study made by the Tribunal de Contas da União, entity responsible to verify the state expenditures, there were 1.1 Million individuals receiving benefits who did not qualify.

Do you know of any other interesting Basic Income experiment happening now? Please, share in the comments!