From idea to experiment. Report on universal basic income experiment in Finland

Working papers 106, 2016

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From idea to experiment

• The working paper summarises the preliminary report on the universal basic income (BI) experiment planned in Finland.• The purpose of the preliminary report was to propose and analyse models

and designs for the experiment. • According to plans, the first phase of the experiment will be carried out in

2017–2018.

• Contents• the concept and content of BI • BI in other countries• debates surrounding BI • the popular support for BI in Finland• evaluations on different BI models

• Implementing a seemingly very simple social policy device into complex institutional settings is a very demanding task.

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Recommendations of the working group

• Partial basic income as a basis• Different levels of partial basic income (e.g. 550-750 euros per month)

should be tested in the experiment.

• Both nationwide and regional sampling• Target group: low-income earners aged between 25 and 63

• As can be seen in the bill on BI legislation (25th August 2016) much of our recommendations could not be met.

• Read the working paper