The Federal Republic of Germany is testing the unconditional basic income: A three-year study is to show whether the model is an option in Germany.
- As part of the study carried out by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), 120 people will receive an unconditional basic income of 1,200 euros every month for three years .
- The researchers will then compare their experiences with another group of 1,380 people who did not receive these monthly payments but live on their conventional salary *.
- The study is funded by 140,000 private donations.
Long-term study on unconditional basic income started
“This study is a huge opportunity to be able to translate the theoretical debate that has been accompanying us for years about the unconditional basic income into social reality. Previous global experiments are largely useless for the current debate in Germany. With this long-term pilot project for Germany, we are breaking new scientific ground, ”says Jürgen Schupp, Senior Research Fellow of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin.
As part of the DIW study, a total of 1,500 test subjects have been sought since August 18, 2020, of which 120 will then be selected at random . Once they are found, they will receive unconditional 1,200 euros a month for three years. The remaining 1,380 selected act as a comparison group . All participants are also asked to fill out questionnaires about their life, work and emotional state to see whether a basic income has had a significant effect.
Basic income means that the government pays every citizen a lump sum once a month , regardless of income or employment status . Proponents argue that basic income reduces inequality and improves well-being.
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“We want to find out how an unconditional basic income changes people and society . We want to know what it does with behavior and attitudes and whether the basic income can help to deal with the current challenges of our society, ”says Michael Bohmeyer, initiator of the Mein Grundeinkommen association. (sca) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
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