Politics
Basic Income Experiments Around the World
Basic Income Experiments Around the World
What if everyone received monthly payments to make life easier and encourage greater economic activity? That’s the exact premise behind Universal Basic Income (UBI).
The idea of UBI as a means to both combat poverty and improve economic prospects has been around for decades. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on economies worldwide, momentum behind the idea has seen a resurgence among certain groups.
Of course, the money to fund basic income programs has to come from somewhere. UBI relies heavily on government budgets or direct funding to cover the regular payments.
As policymakers examine this trade-off between government spending and the potential benefits, there is a growing pool of data to draw inferences from. In fact, basic income has been piloted and experimented on all around the world—but with a mixed bag of results.
What Makes Basic Income Universal?
UBI operates by giving people the means to meet basic necessities with a regular stipend. In theory, this leaves them free to spend their money and resources on economic goods, or searching for better employment options.
Before examining the programs, it’s important to make a distinction between basic income and universal basic income.
With these parameters in mind, and thanks to data from the Stanford Basic Income Lab, we’ve mapped 48 basic income programs that demonstrate multiple features of UBI and are regularly cited in basic income policy.
Some mapped programs are past experiments used to evaluate basic income. Others are ongoing or new pilots, including recently launched programs in Germany and Spain.
Recently, Canada joined the list as countries considering UBI as a top policy priority in a post-COVID world. But as past experiments show, ideas around basic income can be implemented in many different ways.
Basic Income Programs Took Many Forms
Basic income pilots have seen many iterations across the globe. Many paid out in U.S. dollars, while others chose to stick with local currencies (marked by an asterisk for estimated USD value).
Program | Location | Recipients | Payment Frequency | Amount ($US/yr) | Dates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abundant Birth Project | San Francisco, U.S. | 100 | Monthly | $12,000-$18,000 | TBD |
Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend | Alaska, U.S. | 667,047 | Annually | $1,000-$2,000 | 1982-Present |
B-MINCOME | Barcelona, Spain | 1,000 | Monthly | $1,392-$23,324* | 2017-2019 |
Baby's First Years | New York, U.S. | 1,000 | Monthly | $240-$3,996 | 2017-2022 |
Baby's First Years | New Orleans, U.S. | 1,000 | Monthly | $240-$3,996 | 2017-2022 |
Baby's First Years | Omaha, U.S. | 1,000 | Monthly | $240-$3,996 | 2017-2022 |
Baby's First Years | Twin Cities, U.S. | 1,000 | Monthly | $240-$3,996 | 2017-2022 |
Basic Income for Farmers | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | 430,000 | Annually | $509* | TBD |
Basic Income Grant (BIG) Pilot | Omitara, Namibia | 930 | Monthly | $163* | 2008-2009 |
Basic Income Project | Not Disclosed | 3,000 | Monthly | $600-$12,000 | 2019-Present |
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Casino Revenue Fund | Jackson County and area, NC, U.S. | 15,414 | Biannually | $7,000-$12,000 | 1996-Present |
Eight Pilot Project | Busibi, Uganda | 150 | Monthly | $110-$219* | 2017-2019 |
Evaluation of the Citizens' Basic Income Program | Maricá, Brazil | 42,000 | Monthly | $360* | 2019-Present |
Finland Basic Income Experiment | Finland | 2,000 | Monthly | $7,793* | 2017-2018 |
Gary Income Maintenance Experiments | Gary, U.S. | 1,782 | Monthly | $3,300-$4,300 | 1971-1974 |
Give Directly | Western Kenya | 20,847 | Monthly or Lump Sum | $274 | 2017-2030 |
Give Directly | Saiya County, Kenya | 10,500 | Lump Sum | $333 | 2014-2017 |
Give Directly | Rarieda District, Kenya | 503 | Monthly or Lump Sum | $405-$1,525 | 2011-2013 |
Human Development Fund | Mongolia | 2,700,000 | Monthly | $187 | 2010-2012 |
Ingreso Mínimo Vital | Spain | 850,000 | Monthly | $6,535-$14,358* | 2020-Present |
Iran Cash Transfer Programme | Iran | 75,000,000 | Monthly | $48 | 2010-Present |
Madhya Pradesh Unconditional Cash Transfers Project | Madhya Pradesh, India | 5,547 | Monthly | $26-$77* | 2011-2012 |
Magnolia Mother's Trust | Jackson, MS, U.S. | 80 | Monthly | $12,000 | 2019-Present |
Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment | Winnipeg, Canada | 1,677 | Monthly | $3,842-$5,864* | 1975-1978 |
Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment | Dauphin, Canada | 586 | Monthly | $3,842-$5,864* | 1975-1978 |
My Basic Income | Germany | 120 | Monthly | $17,160* | 2020-2023 |
New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment | Jersey City, U.S. | 1,357 | Biweekly | Varied | 1968-1972 |
New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment | Paterson, NJ, U.S. | 1,357 | Biweekly | Varied | 1968-1972 |
New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment | Passaic, NJ, U.S. | 1,357 | Biweekly | Varied | 1968-1972 |
New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment | Trenton, NJ, U.S. | 1,357 | Biweekly | Varied | 1968-1972 |
New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiment | Scranton, PA, U.S. | 1,357 | Biweekly | Varied | 1968-1972 |
Ontario Basic Income Pilot | Hamilton and area, Canada | 2,748 | Monthly | $13,112-$18,930* (-50% income) | 2017-2018 |
Ontario Basic Income Pilot | Thunder Bay and area, Canada | 1,908 | Monthly | $13,112-$18,930* (-50% income) | 2017-2018 |
Ontario Basic Income Pilot | Lindsay, Canada | 1,844 | Monthly | $13,112-$18,930* (-50% income) | 2017-2018 |
Preserving Our Diversity | Santa Monica, U.S. | 250 | Monthly | $7,836-$8,964 | 2017-Present |
Quatinga Velho | Quatinga, Mogi das Cruces, Brazil | 67 | Monthly | $197* | 2008-2014 |
Rural Income Maintenance Experiment | Duplin County, NC, U.S. | 810 | Monthly | Varied (NIT) | 1970-1972 |
Rural Income Maintenance Experiment | Iowa, U.S. | 810 | Monthly | Varied (NIT) | 1970-1972 |
Scheme $6,000 | Hong Kong, China | 4,000,000 | Annually | $771* | 2011-2012 |
Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment | Seattle, U.S. | 2,042 | Monthly | $3,800-$5,600 | 1971-1982 |
Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiment | Denver, U.S. | 2,758 | Monthly | $3,800-$5,600 | 1971-1982 |
Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration | Stockton, U.S. | 125 | Monthly | $6,000 | 2019-Present |
TBD | Newark, U.S. | TBD | Monthly | TBD | TBD |
Transition-Age Youth Basic Income Pilot Program | Santa Clara, CA, U.S. | 72 | Monthly | $12,000 | 2020-2021 |
Wealth Partaking Scheme | Macau, China | 700,600 | Annually | $750-$1,150 | 2008-Present |
Youth Basic Income Program | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | 125,000 | Quarterly | $848* | 2018-Present |
Citizen's Basic Income Pilot | Scotland | TBD | Monthly | TBD | TBD |
People's Prosperity Guaranteed Income Demonstration Pilot | St. Paul, U.S. | 150 | Monthly | $6,000 | 2020-2022 |
Many of the programs meet the classical requirements of UBI. Of the 48 basic income programs tallied above, 75% paid out monthly, and 60% were paid out to individuals.
However, for various reasons, not all of these programs follow UBI requirements. For example, 38% of the basic income programs were paid out to households instead of individuals, and many programs have paid out in lump sums or over varying time frames.
Interestingly, the need for better understanding of basic income has resulted in many divergences between programs. Some programs were only targeted at specific groups like South Korea’s Basic Income for Farmers program, while others like the Baby’s First Years program in the U.S. have been experimenting with different dollar amounts in order to evaluate efficiency.
Other experiments based payments made off of the total income of recipients. For example, in the U.S., the Rural Income and New Jersey Income Maintenance Experiments paid out using a negative income tax (return) on earnings, while recipients of Canada’s Ontario Basic Income Pilot received fixed amounts minus 50% of their earned income.
Varying Programs with Varied Results
So is basic income the real deal or a pipe dream? The results are still unclear.
Some, like the initial pilots for Uganda’s Eight program, were found to result in significant multipliers on economic activity and well-being. Other programs, however, returned mixed results that made further experimentation difficult. Finland’s highly-touted pilot program decreased stress levels of recipients across the board, but didn’t positively impact work activity.
The biggest difficulty has been in keeping programs going and securing funding. Ontario’s three-year projects were prematurely cancelled in 2018 before they could be completed and assessed, and the next stages of Finland’s program are in limbo.
Likewise in the U.S., start-up incubator Y Combinator has been planning a $60M basic income study program, but can’t proceed until funding is secured.
A Post-COVID Future for UBI?
In light of COVID-19, basic income has once again taken center stage.
Many countries have already implemented payment schemes or boosted unemployment benefits in reaction to the pandemic. Others like Spain have used that momentum to launch fully-fledged basic income pilots.
It’s still too early to tell if UBI will live up to expectations or if the idea will fizzle out, but as new experiments and policy programs take shape, a growing amount of data will become available for policymakers to evaluate.
War
Visualized: Top 15 Global Tank Fleets
Heavily armed and armored, the modern tank is a versatile and mobile weapons platform, and a critical piece of contemporary warfare.
The Top 15 Global Tank Fleets
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Heavily armed and armored, the modern tank is a versatile and mobile weapons platform, and a critical piece of contemporary warfare.
This visualization shows the top 15 global tank fleets, using data from the 2024 Military Balance report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Let’s take an in-depth look at the top three fleets:
1. United States
As the world’s pre-eminent military power, it’s perhaps no surprise that the United States also has the largest tank fleet, by a wide margin.
In total, they have just over 45,000 armored fighting vehicles in operation, along with 2,640 main battle tanks (MBTs), and 12,800 vehicles in storage, of which 2,000 are main battle tanks.
Category | Vehicles | Global rank |
---|---|---|
Main battle tanks | 2,640 | 4 |
Armored reconnaissance | 1,745 | 1 |
Infantry fighting vehicles | 3,262 | 3 |
Armored personnel carriers | 10,644 | 1 |
Amphibious assault vehicles | 1,401 | 1 |
Armored utility vehicles | 28,445 | 1 |
Storage | 12,800 | 1 |
Total | 60,937 | 1 |
The U.S. is internalizing the lessons from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, where Western-supplied anti-tank weapons and massed Ukrainian artillery have been cutting Russian tanks to pieces. As a result, the U.S. recently canceled an upgrade of the M1 Abrams in favor of a more ambitious upgrade.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is nervously eyeing a more confident China and a potential clash over Taiwan, where air and naval forces will be critical. However, a recent war game showed that Taiwanese mechanized ground forces, kitted out with American-made tanks and armored fighting vehicles, were critical in keeping the island autonomous.
2. Russia
According to Oryx, a Dutch open-source intelligence defense website, at time of writing, Russia has lost almost 2,800 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine. Considering that in the 2022 edition of the Military Balance, Russia was estimated to have 2,927 MBTs in operation, those are some hefty losses.
Russia has been able to maintain about 2,000 MBTs in the field, in part, by increasing domestic production. Many defense plants have been taken over by state-owned Rostec and now operate around the clock. Russia is also now spending a full third of their budget on defense, equivalent to about 7.5% of GDP.
At the same time, they’ve also been drawing down their Soviet-era stockpiles, which are modernized before being sent to the front. Just how long they can keep this up is an open question; their stockpiles are large, but not limitless. Here is what their storage levels look like:
Category | 2023 | 2024 | YOY change |
---|---|---|---|
Main battle tanks | 5,000 | 4,000 | -20.0% |
Armored reconnaissance | 1,000 | 100 | -90.0% |
Infantry fighting vehicles | 4,000 | 2,800 | -30.0% |
Armored personnel carriers | 6,000 | 2,300 | -61.7% |
Total | 16,000 | 9,200 | -42.5% |
3. China
China holds the third overall spot and top place globally for the number of main battle tanks in operation. Untypically, the People’s Liberation Army has no armored vehicles in storage, which perhaps isn’t surprising when you consider that China has been rapidly modernizing its military and that stockpiles usually contain older models.
China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of armored fighting vehicles, second only to the United States. Breaking down that headline number, we can also see that they have the largest number of light tanks, wheeled guns, and infantry fighting vehicles.
Category | Vehicles | Global rank |
---|---|---|
Main battle tanks | 4,700 | 1 |
Light tanks | 1,330 | 1 |
Wheeled guns | 1,250 | 1 |
Infantry fighting vehicles | 8,200 | 1 |
Armored personnel carriers | 3,604 | 5 |
Airborne combat vehicles | 180 | 2 |
Amphibious assault vehicles | 990 | 2 |
Total | 20,254 | 3 |
This is equipment that would be integral if China were to make an attempt to reunify Taiwan with the mainland by force, where lightly armored mechanized units need to move with speed to occupy the island before Western allies can enter the fray. It’s worth noting that China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of amphibious assault vehicles.
End of the Tank?
Many commentators at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were quick to predict the end of the tank, however, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the tank’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
With the U.S. and China both developing remote and autonomous armored vehicles, tanks could be quite different in the future, but there is nothing else that matches them for firepower, mobility, and survivability on the modern battlefield today.
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