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  • September 2020 Newsletter
 
Is UBI an efficient buffer against shocks?
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IZA World of Labor logo
Is unconditional basic income a viable alternative to other social welfare measures?

The crisis brought about by Covid-19 has prompted many economists and policymakers to rethink their stance on universal basic income (UBI). Once a hot topic for academic debates, the concept is now fast earning a place at the forefront of politicians’ minds. With soaring unemployment rates around the world, it may be prudent to take a closer look at the results of small-scale UBI trials undertaken in Finland and in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

IZA World of Labor contributor Ugo Colombino has explored the subject of whether unconditional basic income is a viable alternative to other social welfare measures. In his article, he writes that:

Designing income support policies that work well as both buffers against the volatility inherent in the global economy and as redistribution mechanisms for the gains from automation and globalization requires first considering how well current social assistance policies meet those goals.

Colombino then analyzes the impact the most recent recession had on the economy:

Many OECD countries have been suffering from high unemployment and job insecurity since the Great Recession in the late 2000s. [...] The post-2008 recession inflated the number of people in need of assistance and, in turn, the volume and complexities of social protection.

Economic reasoning and empirical evidence suggest that, under certain conditions, unconditional basic income might be an important policy innovation for redistributing gains from automation and globalization, building a buffer against shocks and systemic risks, and generating positive labor supply incentives among the poor.

While such a policy is simple and transparent, financing it might require higher taxes or cuts of other transfers, with efficiency and equality losses. Therefore, careful redesign of taxes and transfers is needed to obtain a net benefit from unconditional basic income.

 

Read the full article by Ugo Colombino:
Is unconditional basic income a viable alternative to other
social welfare measures?

 
 

Related key topic pages:

Employment protection


Employment protection

 

Unemployment insurance


Unemployment insurance

 

 
 

Related articles:

 

  • Should unemployment insurance cover partial unemployment? (Deutsch) by Susanne Ek Spector

  • Does unemployment insurance offer incentives to take jobs in the formal sector? (Deutsch) by Mariano Bosch

  • Tuning unemployment insurance to the business cycle (Deutsch) by Torben M. Andersen

  • Unemployment benefits and unemployment (Deutsch) by Robert Moffitt

  • Unemployment and happiness (Deutsch) by Rainer Winkelmann

  • Designing unemployment benefits in developing countries (Deutsch) by David A. Robalino

 
 

What is the economic impact of Covid-19 around the world?

Editor-in-chief Professor Dan Hamermesh commissioned conversations with experts from South Africa, Japan, Ireland, Chile, Germany, Sweden, Canada and Spain on the effects in their countries:

Economic impact of Covid-19 around the world

Find more national responses to Covid-19 here.

 
 

Read our latest news stories:

UK care homes are expecting Covid-19 second wave

UK care homes are expecting Covid-19 second wave

According to statistics, between early March and early August 2020 care homes in England and Wales registered 26,500 excess deaths.

Japanese supercomputer suggests face shields ineffective at preventing

Japanese supercomputer suggests face shields ineffective at preventing

The world’s fastest supercomputer has been used by scientists in Japan to ascertain the effectiveness of plastic visors in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

New York’s mayor to furlough himself and staff to ease revenue shortfall

New York’s mayor to furlough himself and staff to ease revenue shortfall

Bill de Blasio estimates the week-long furloughs of approximately 500 staff will save around US$1 million.

Singapore partners with Apple to encourage healthy behavior in its citizens

Singapore partners with Apple to encourage healthy behavior in its citizens

Singapore’s Health Promotion Board has partnered with global tech brand Apple to encourage healthy activity and behaviors in Singaporeans.

Education not the only solution to persistent deprivation in England

Education not the only solution to persistent deprivation in England

A new report published by England’s Social Mobility Commission suggests that education alone will not close the social mobility gap in areas of very low social mobility.

Senior IOC official vows Tokyo Olympics will take place in 2021 “with or without Covid”

Senior IOC official vows Tokyo Olympics will take place in 2021 “with or without Covid”

With Japan’s borders still largely closed to foreign visitors and no vaccine in sight, many wonder whether it will be feasible to hold the Games.

Surviving Covid-19: Gig workers in Singapore

Surviving Covid-19: Gig workers in Singapore

According to official figures, last year Singapore had 211,000 independent workers (9%), up from 200,000 in 2016.

French government to earmark €100 billion to save coronavirus-hit economy

French government to earmark €100 billion to save coronavirus-hit economy

Emmanuel Macron is to present a dramatic spending plan to save France's virus-hit economy.

Germany could provide a lesson in how to reopen schools in a pandemic

Coronavirus could be helping to reverse New Zealand’s brain drain

New Zealanders are currently returning home at rates much faster than anticipated.

Germany could provide a lesson in how to reopen schools in a pandemic

Germany could provide a lesson in how to reopen schools in a pandemic

Germany closed its schools nation-wide as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in mid-March.

Europe expecting a tsunami of job cuts

Europe expecting a tsunami of job cuts

A new study by McKinsey & Company predicts millions of jobs are at risk as companies plan to downsize to offset the loss of business caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

 
 

Upcoming events:

 

  • Joint IZA & Jaobs Center Workshop: Consequences of Covid-19 for Child and Youth Development, Oct 19-20 2020, Online

  • IZA Workshop: Labor Markets and the Phillips Curve: What Has Changed in the Past 60 Years?, Nov 20-21 2020, Online

  • 10th Annual International Conference on Immigration in OECD Countries, Dec 07-08 - OECD Conference Centre, Paris

  • World Employment Conference 2020: Steering a labour market in transformation, Sept 07-08 2021 - Madrid, Spain

 
 

Read some of our recent commentaries:

Excess deaths in care homes during the pandemic

Excess deaths in care homes during the pandemic

Transmission of Covid both within and from contacts with care homes was a major source of the vector of Covid-19.

Human mobility during the pandemic: Policy or information?

Human mobility during the pandemic: Policy or information?

Overall, government-imposed measures are the driving force behind the decline in human mobility and the associated economic activity.

Economic effects of Covid-19: The importance of credit constraints

Economic effects of Covid-19: The importance of credit constraints

The data suggest that the Covid-19 outbreak reduced expected sales growth and increased the prices that firms expected to charge.

All in this together?: Inequality during Covid-19

All in this together? Inequality during Covid-19

Covid-19 has caused disproportionate employment and health losses for workers whose jobs cannot be conducted remotely.

Cognitive performance in the home office—What professional chess can tell us

Cognitive performance in the home office—What professional chess can tell us

A crucial question for companies is how workers’ productivity changes in the home office compared to the regular office.

Covid-19 shutdowns and the self-employed

Covid-19 shutdowns and the self-employed

Mothers have been particularly burdened; consequently, many years of gains in women’s labor market position may have been undone by these shutdowns. 

Racial and ethnic disparities in the face of the coronavirus

Racial and ethnic disparities in the face of the coronavirus

The urgency of the racial issue has been widely acknowledged within the medical literature that focuses on clinical outcomes.

The power of social capital during a pandemic

The power of social capital during a pandemic

Social capital is a key factor for the successful containment of a public health emergency, especially in the absence of lockdown policies.

Does policy communication during Covid-19 work?

Does policy communication during Covid-19 work?

Monetary and fiscal policies affect the economy, but how they operate remains a point of contention.

You can find more commentaries
on our opinion page

 
 

Articles relating to pandemics and the labor market:

  • Why does part-time employment increase in recessions? (Deutsch) (Español) by Daniel Borowczyk-Martins

  • Health effects of job insecurity (Deutsch) by Francis Green

  • Short-time work compensation schemes and employment (Deutsch) (Español) by Pierre Cahuc

  • Do youths graduating in a recession incur permanent losses? (Deutsch) (Español) by Bart Cockx

  • The relationship between recessions and health (Deutsch) by Nick Drydakis

  • Effects of entering adulthood during a recession (Deutsch) by Lisa Dettling

To read more, consult our key topic page Covid-19—
Pandemics and the labor market. 

 
 

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have lasting economic and social impacts on employment, income, and working conditions in labor markets around the world. 

IZA has therefore invited a number of experts to monitor individual countries' crisis responses on their
Crisis Response Monitoring site:

IZA Crisis Response Monitoring
 
 

Latest articles
 

  • Integrating refugees into labor markets (Deutsch) by Pieter Bevelander

  • European asylum policy before and after the migration crisis (Deutsch) by Tim Hatton

  • Recruiting intensity (Deutsch) by R. Jason Faberman

  • Who benefits from firm-sponsored training? (Deutsch) by Benoit Dostie

  • Bonuses and performance evaluations (Deutsch) (Español) by Dirk Sliwka

  • Labor market performance and the rise of populism (Deutsch) (Español) by Sergei Guriev 

  • Are workers motivated by the greater good? (Deutsch) (Español) by Mirco Tonin

  • Skill-based immigration, economic integration, and economic performance (Deutsch) by Abdurrahman B. Aydemir

  • The labor market in Norway, 2000–2018 (Deutsch) by Øivind A. Nilsen

  • What is the nature and extent of student-university mismatch? (Deutsch) (Español) by Gillian Wyness and Richard Murphy

  • The impact of monitoring and sanctioning on unemployment exit and job-finding rates (Deutsch) (Español) by Duncan McVicar

  • The determinants of housework time (Deutsch) (Español) by Leslie S. Stratton
     

All one-pagers are also available to read and download in German. Find out more.

One-pagers are now available in Spanish. Take a look at the Spanish key topics page.

 
 

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