Why Do We Run Basic Income Experiments? From Empirical Evidence to Collective Debate

Laín Bru () and Merrill Roberto
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Laín Bru: Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Merrill Roberto: Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

Basic Income Studies, 2021, vol. 16, issue 1, 27-38

Abstract: There are two major possible responses to the question: what (if anything) can justify a basic income experiment? An experiment might be justified either because it gathers positive empirical evidence supporting rolling out a basic income, or because it justifies the moral desirability of such a measure. This paper critically explores both responses, the “empirical” and “ethical claim” in light of the Barcelona B-MINCOME pilot, alongside other similar experiments. We sustained that although the empirical claim is necessary, there seems to be sufficient data to easily predict that all future experiments are to gather positive results too. Consequently, we argue that experiments are particularly well-equipped to foster debates on the work ethics and on the ethical dimension of social policies and welfare regimes in general.

Keywords: ethics; empirical evidence; basic income; experiments; B-MINCOME (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1515/bis-2021-0018

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