Wales is in the middle of a pilot project that aims to help young adults who have been wards of the crown to avoid homelessness. Guaranteeing a basic income for an extended period of time to young people when they leave care is part of the pilot1
The logic of providing a basic income for an extended period is also being tested Kenya. The effects of the program are being studied by two economists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The project asks whether a lump sum payment yields better economic outcomes than a monthly payment. The study in Kenya stands out for at least two reasons:
- The study sample is 6,000 people. This large sample size means that the results will have strong statistical validity
- The project, which began in 2016, has been running for 12 years. This allows the researchers to study the effects of a one-time lump sum payment over a long period of time with small monthly payments.
The study results so far dispel one myth about giving monthly payments for an extended period of time. The recipients have not used the money to consume drugs or alcohol. Instead they have pooled their payments to create a fund that they can access to complete training or start a business.
The impact of monthly payments also extends beyond the people pooling their payments. In communities with pooling projects, unemployment is down and wages for all work has gone up.
The people running the pilot project in Wales will be heartened by the evidence which supports distributing monthly payments for an extended period of time.
Care leavers in Wales might take note of the pooling projects in Kenya, which were initiated by the study participants themselves. Participants were quick to identify the potential benefit of pooling funds. It is the recipients who control the pool. The people who are funding, administering and evaluating the Universal Basic Income trial have no direct role. This could be of particular interest to young adults leaving care in Wales.
The project in Kenya should also appeal to readers in any jurisdiction that is seeking ways to boost community economic well-being. Rather than being a drag on the economy, the results of the project in Kenya suggest that the benefits of ongoing small infusions of cash are far-reaching.
Read more at Vox: The First Results From The World’s Biggest Basic Income Experiment
Footnotes
- For details of this pilot, try: Welsh Government Tips Housing Scale To Favour Local Residents and Giving Money For Things That Turn Out To Be Priceless
