With the triple crisis of capitalism looming and, in the U.S., a poorly performing welfare state, Universal Basic Income (UBI) has returned to popular attention. To assess whether this is warranted and, more importantly, to provide answer on the extent to which a UBI can or should be considered a cure-all, this work, first, examines the historical development of UBI proposals including those stemming from European Social Democrats and Libertarians. Next, pilot programs at the local, state, and national level are critically examined for their methodologies and empirical results. Turning, then, to theory on de-commodification, unpaid labor, and the equality-jobs tradeoff, this paper explores criterion within that theory for assessing UBI and its impacts. Ultimately, I suggest that a UBI is not a cure-all, but it does not have to be a band-aid and, alongside that, a reconceptualization of social policy, generally, and our goals with UBI, specifically, is needed.
","abstract_html":"<p>With the triple crisis of capitalism looming and, in the U.S., a poorly performing welfare state, Universal Basic Income (UBI) has returned to popular attention. To assess whether this is warranted and, more importantly, to provide answer on the extent to which a UBI can or should be considered a cure-all, this work, first, examines the historical development of UBI proposals including those stemming from European Social Democrats and Libertarians. Next, pilot programs at the local, state, and national level are critically examined for their methodologies and empirical results. Turning, then, to theory on de-commodification, unpaid labor, and the equality-jobs tradeoff, this paper explores criterion within that theory for assessing UBI and its impacts. Ultimately, I suggest that a UBI is not a cure-all, but it does not have to be a band-aid and, alongside that, a reconceptualization of social policy, generally, and our goals with UBI, specifically, is needed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Beckner, Madison"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Economics","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Yavuz Yasar","Robert G. Urquhart","Markus Schneider","Alejandro Cerón Valdés"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:39Z","subjects":["Economics","Capitalism","Universal basic income (UBI)","Social policy","Economic History","Economic Theory","Income Distribution","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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