Size matters: universal basic income as a strategy for decent work

Ruth Castel-Branco and Nicolas Pons-Vignon

Chapter 49 in The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals, 2025, pp 627-637 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Universal Basic Income (UBI) has gained increasing traction as a response to rising unemployment and labor insecurity. Advocates argue that it fills an important gap in social protection systems, empowers workers to reject exploitative conditions, provides compensation for uncommodified activities and enhances social cohesion. Its universal character avoids costly targeting errors; while its unconditional nature protects the poor from coercion into workfare. UBI is also seen as an efficient means of social provisioning, bypassing costly state bureaucracies. However, critics contend that UBI only can only effectively decommodify labor if the value of the transfer is sufficient to meet households’ reproductive needs and it is complimented by public services. Otherwise, UBI will simply subsidize capitalist accumulation and reproduce unequal power relations. Evaluating UBI’s liberal and progressive arguments reveals nuances in its value, relationship with other welfare systems, and impact on worker power, which is crucial for informed policy decisions.

Keywords: Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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