IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bistud/v18y2023i1p47-87n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Ecological Basic Income? Examining the Ecological Credentials of Basic Income Through a Review of Selected Pilot Interventions

Author

Listed:
  • Langridge Nicholas

    (University of Bath, Bath, UK)

  • Buchs Milena

    (University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)

  • Howard Neil

    (University of Bath, Bath, UK)

Abstract

While basic income (BI) has long been advocated for its social benefits, some scholars also propose it in response to the ecological crises. However, the empirical evidence to support this position is currently lacking and the concept of an ecological BI (EBI) is underdeveloped. Part one of this paper attempts to develop such a concept, arguing that an EBI should seek to reduce aggregate material throughput, improve human needs satisfaction, reduce inequalities, rebalance productive activity towards social activities in the autonomous sphere, and promote societal values of cooperation and sufficiency. Part two examines how BI interventions consider the principles of an EBI in their designs and discusses what their findings infer about BI’s ecological credentials. The results find that while ecological considerations are largely absent from BI intervention designs, their findings suggest that interventions aligned with the principles of an EBI could play a role in addressing the ecological crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Langridge Nicholas & Buchs Milena & Howard Neil, 2023. "An Ecological Basic Income? Examining the Ecological Credentials of Basic Income Through a Review of Selected Pilot Interventions," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 47-87, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bistud:v:18:y:2023:i:1:p:47-87:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/bis-2021-0044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2021-0044
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/bis-2021-0044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sanjay G. Reddy & Rahul Lahoti, 2015. "$1.90 Per Day: What Does it Say?," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 189, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    2. Mattathias Lerner, 2019. "The Impacts of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend on High School Status Completion Rates," Papers 1910.04083, arXiv.org.
    3. Kyle Knight & Eugene A. Rosa & Juliet B. Schor, 2013. "Reducing growth to achieve environmental sustainability: the role of work hours," Chapters, in: Jeannette Wicks-Lim & Robert Pollin (ed.), Capitalism on Trial, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Fitzpatrick Tony, 2010. "Basic Income, Post-Productivism and Liberalism," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 4(2), pages 1-11, September.
    5. Kozminski, Kate & Baek, Jungho, 2017. "Can an oil-rich economy reduce its income inequality? Empirical evidence from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 98-104.
    6. Damon Jones & Ioana Marinescu, 2022. "The Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 315-340, May.
    7. Büchs, Milena, 2021. "Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    8. Van Parijs Philippe, 2010. "Political Ecology: From Autonomous Sphere to Basic Income," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 4(2), pages 1-9, September.
    9. Steven J. Lade & Will Steffen & Wim Vries & Stephen R. Carpenter & Jonathan F. Donges & Dieter Gerten & Holger Hoff & Tim Newbold & Katherine Richardson & Johan Rockström, 2020. "Human impacts on planetary boundaries amplified by Earth system interactions," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 119-128, February.
    10. Easterlin, Richard A., 1995. "Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-47, June.
    11. Lorenz Kueng, 2018. "Excess Sensitivity of High-Income Consumers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(4), pages 1693-1751.
    12. Narasimha D. Rao & Jihoon Min, 2018. "Decent Living Standards: Material Prerequisites for Human Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 225-244, July.
    13. Sophia Seung-Yoon Lee & Ji-eun Lee & Kyo-seong Kim, 2020. "Evaluating Basic Income, Basic Service, and Basic Voucher for Social and Ecological Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-25, October.
    14. François-Xavier Devetter & Sandrine Rousseau, 2011. "Working Hours and Sustainable Development," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(3), pages 333-355, September.
    15. Jason Hickel, 2019. "Is it possible to achieve a good life for all within planetary boundaries?," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 18-35, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mumbunan, Sonny & Maitri, Ni Made Rahayu, 2022. "A Review of Basic Income for Nature and Climate," OSF Preprints bre43, Center for Open Science.
    2. Guettabi, Mouhcine & Witman, Allison, 2023. "Universal cash transfers and prescription utilization: Evidence from the Alaska permanent fund dividend," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Brett Watson & Mouhcine Guettabi & Matthew Reimer, 2020. "Universal Cash and Crime," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(4), pages 678-689, October.
    4. MacNeill Timothy & Vibert Amber, 2019. "Universal Basic Income and the Natural Environment: Theory and Policy," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, June.
    5. Pinto Jorge, 2020. "Environmentalism, Ecologism, and Basic Income," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, June.
    6. Alexander James & Nathaly Rivera & Brock Smith, 2022. "Cash Transfers and Voter Turnout," Working Papers 2022-01, University of Alaska Anchorage, Department of Economics.
    7. Yonzan, Nishant & Timilsina, Laxman & Kelly, Inas Rashad, 2024. "Economic incentives surrounding fertility: Evidence from Alaska’s permanent fund dividend," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    8. King, Lewis C. & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2017. "Worktime Reduction as a Solution to Climate Change: Five Scenarios Compared for the UK," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 124-134.
    9. Sophia Seung-Yoon Lee & Ji-eun Lee & Kyo-seong Kim, 2020. "Evaluating Basic Income, Basic Service, and Basic Voucher for Social and Ecological Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-25, October.
    10. Fioramonti, Lorenzo & Coscieme, Luca & Costanza, Robert & Kubiszewski, Ida & Trebeck, Katherine & Wallis, Stewart & Roberts, Debra & Mortensen, Lars F. & Pickett, Kate E. & Wilkinson, Richard & Ragnar, 2022. "Wellbeing economy: An effective paradigm to mainstream post-growth policies?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    11. Guimarães, Luis & Lourenço, Diogo, 2024. "The Imperfections of Conditional Programs and the Case for Universal Basic Income," MPRA Paper 119964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Fluhrer, Svenja & Kraehnert, Kati, 2022. "Sitting in the same boat: Subjective well-being and social comparison after an extreme weather event," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    13. Anna Fabry & Goedele Broeck & Miet Maertens, 2022. "Gender Inequality and Job Satisfaction in Senegal: A Multiple Mediation Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 2291-2311, June.
    14. Migo-Sumagang, Maria Victoria & Tan, Raymond R. & Aviso, Kathleen B., 2023. "A multi-period model for optimizing negative emission technology portfolios with economic and carbon value discount rates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    15. Proto, Eugenio & Rustichini, Aldo, 2012. "Life Satisfaction, Household Income and Personality Traits," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 86, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    16. J. Silvestre, & T. Araújo & M. St. Aubyn, 2016. "Economic growth and individual satisfaction in an agent-based economy," Working Papers Department of Economics 2016/19, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    17. Yamada, Katsunori & Sato, Masayuki, 2013. "Another avenue for anatomy of income comparisons: Evidence from hypothetical choice experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 35-57.
    18. Claudio A. Agostini & Philip H. Brown, 2010. "Local Distributional Effects Of Government Cash Transfers In Chile," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(2), pages 366-388, June.
    19. Cristina Balaceanu & Diana Apostol, 2014. "Gdp As A Measuring Instrument For The Human Development," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6, pages 69-72, December.
    20. Simona Šarotar Žižek & Matjaž Mulej & Sonja Treven, 2010. "Requisite Holism Of Individuals As A Precondition For The Humankind’S Way Out From The 2008- Crisis," Analele Stiintifice ale Universitatii "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iasi - Stiinte Economice (1954-2015), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 57, pages 399-419, november.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:bistud:v:18:y:2023:i:1:p:47-87:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.