Beyond the Prototype, Towards the Varieties of Basic Income Experiences

Soomi Lee ()
Additional contact information
Soomi Lee: University of La Verne

Chapter Chapter 8 in Determining the Value of Universal Basic Income, 2026, pp 171-192 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines the financial feasibility and strategies for implementing Universal Basic Income (UBI), arguing for a departure from the divide between typical UBI models and Negative Income Tax (NIT) frameworks. While basic income experiments show promise, they have limitations for national implementation. The success of a nationwide UBI depends not only on positive pilot program metrics but also on how it integrates with existing systems and interacts with other programs, which is critical for building a reliable income security system and gaining broad political support. The author proposes a feasible basic income program for the United States that transforms the federal income tax standard deduction into a refundable credit benefiting the poorest populations, along with expanding the refundable Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. experience with the Child Tax Credit shows that tax credit programs can effectively administer monthly cash payments, though challenges exist in identifying non-filers. Overall, this chapter emphasizes that a basic income program should build on existing strengths, address gaps, and be adaptable to specific social, economic, and institutional contexts. This approach allows for the integration of a basic income program to vary from one country to another while aiming to provide UBI experiences across different nations to ensure financial security for all.

Keywords: Basic income; Negative income tax; Tax credit; Social expenditure; Feasibility of basic income; Cost of basic income (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:etbchp:978-3-032-04004-6_8

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9783032040046

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-04004-6_8

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().