This lecture will discuss a form of unconditional cash transfers often called "universal basic income" (UBI). UBI can be thought of as a form of "negative income tax," often with a zero tax rate. Evidence on the incentive effects of UBI in many contexts will be presented. Baseline results from Give Directly’s UBI experiment in Kenya will also be presented. The idea of a negative income tax was supported by a wide range of economists because of its efficiency properties — including James Tobin and Milton Friedman — which makes it surprising that UBI has been so controversial. This […]
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