Does Frequency or Amount Matter? An Exploratory Analysis the Perceptions of Four Universal Basic Income Proposals

Leah Hamilton (), Mathieu Despard, Stephen Roll, Dylan Bellisle, Christian Hall and Allison Wright
Additional contact information
Leah Hamilton: Department of Social Work, Appalachian State University, ASU Box 32155, Boone, NC 28608, USA
Mathieu Despard: Department of Social Work, University of North Carolina Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
Stephen Roll: Social Policy Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Dylan Bellisle: Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois, 504 E. Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
Christian Hall: Department of Social Work, Appalachian State University, ASU Box 32155, Boone, NC 28608, USA
Allison Wright: Department of Social Work, Appalachian State University, ASU Box 32155, Boone, NC 28608, USA

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Advocates for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) argue that it would provide citizens with a basic foundation for financial security, boost the economy, alleviate poverty, encourage entrepreneurship, reduce crime, and insulate the employment sector against job losses due to automation. Still, the idea lags in popularity in the United States compared to existing cash policies such as the annual Earned Income Tax Credit and one-time COVID-19 relief packages. We hypothesize that this disparity is related to predicted uses of a UBI in comparison to annual or lump sum cash programs. In this survey of 836 Americans, we explore whether predicted behavioral responses to four randomly assigned hypothetical cash transfer scenarios vary across the domains of amount and frequency. Respondents are more likely to associate monthly payments with work disincentives and lump-sum transfers with debt repayment. Implications for UBI advocates include the need to continue educating the public on the empirical associations between UBI, employment, and expenditures.

Keywords: survey research; experiment; universal basic income; welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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