IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i3p1733-d1039343.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Basic Income and the Status of Women in an Established Gender-Equal Welfare State: Results from the Finnish Basic Income Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Olli Kangas

    (Research Director, Department of Social Research, University of Turku, 20500 Turku, Finland)

  • Minna Ylikännö

    (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 00023 Helsinki, Finland)

Abstract

Debates on the gendered effects of universal basic income (UBI) tend to bifurcate into two opposing views. On the one hand, UBI is seen as a strong incentive for women to stay at home and be permanently locked into their care responsibilities. On the other hand, UBI is seen as a tool for empowerment, increasing women’s autonomy, fortifying their capacity to act, and guaranteeing their individual income and income security. This paper contributes to these debates by asking if UBI enhances women’s empowerment or not. Using the survey data compiled in the context of the Finnish basic income experiment (2017–2018), we compare survey responses from the UBI treatment group (n = 586) and the control group (n = 1047). Our results based on χ 2 statistics and regression analyses show that, while UBI did not affect employment, it was positively associated with individual capacities and confidence in various aspects of life. However, these empowering effects were universal and did not differ between women and men. Our results indicate that UBI is not a gender equality-related issue in established gender-equal Nordic welfare states. On the basis of our findings, we also argue that the previous academic discussion on UBI and on results from various experiments is too universalising. It does not pay sufficient attention to the national social policy contexts where experiments have been carried out.

Suggested Citation

  • Olli Kangas & Minna Ylikännö, 2023. "Basic Income and the Status of Women in an Established Gender-Equal Welfare State: Results from the Finnish Basic Income Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:1733-:d:1039343
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/1733/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/3/1733/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robeyns Ingrid, 2008. "Introduction: Revisiting the Feminism and Basic Income Debate," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-6, December.
    2. Eva Cox, 2019. "Feminist Perspectives on Basic Income," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: Elise Klein & Jennifer Mays & Tim Dunlop (ed.), Implementing a Basic Income in Australia, chapter 4, pages 69-85, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Hum, Derek & Simpson, Wayne, 1993. "Economic Response to a Guaranteed Annual Income: Experience from Canada and the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 263-296, January.
    4. Jouko Verho & Kari Hämäläinen & Ohto Kanninen, 2022. "Removing Welfare Traps: Employment Responses in the Finnish Basic Income Experiment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 501-522, February.
    5. Alison Koslowski & Ann-Zofie Duvander, 2018. "Basic Income: The Potential for Gendered Empowerment?," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(4), pages 8-15.
    6. Evelyn L. Forget, 2011. "The Town with No Poverty: The Health Effects of a Canadian Guaranteed Annual Income Field Experiment," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 37(3), pages 283-305, September.
    7. Annie Miller & Toru Yamamori & Almaz Zelleke, 2019. "The Gender Effects of a Basic Income," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: Malcolm Torry (ed.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income, chapter 0, pages 133-153, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Sarath Davala, 2019. "Pilots, Evidence and Politics: The Basic Income Debate in India," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: Malcolm Torry (ed.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income, chapter 0, pages 373-387, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. Elgarte Julieta M., 2008. "Basic Income and the Gendered Division of Labour," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-7, December.
    10. Bergmann Barbara R., 2008. "Basic Income Grants or the Welfare State: Which Better Promotes Gender Equality?," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-7, December.
    11. Philip K. Robins, 1985. "A Comparison of the Labor Supply Findings from the Four Negative Income Tax Experiments," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 20(4), pages 567-582.
    12. David Prescott & Robert Swidinsky & David A. Wilton, 1986. "Labour Supply Estimates for Low-Income Female Heads of Household Using Mincome Data," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 19(1), pages 134-141, February.
    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. Jiaqi Yang & Geetha Mohan & Supriya Pipil & Kensuke Fukushi, 2021. "Review on basic income (BI): its theories and empirical cases," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 23(2), pages 203-239, December.
    2. Palermo Kuss Ana Helena & Neumärker K. J. Bernhard, 2018. "Modelling the Time Allocation Effects of Basic Income," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Martin Josh, 2016. "Universal Credit to Basic Income: A Politically Feasible Transition?," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 11(2), pages 97-131, December.
    4. Levasseur Karine & Paterson Stephanie & Carvalho Moreira Nathalia, 2018. "Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers: Implications for Gender," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, June.
    5. Jeffrey Smith & Arthur Sweetman, 2016. "Viewpoint: Estimating the causal effects of policies and programs," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(3), pages 871-905, August.
    6. Chris Riddell & W. Craig Riddell, 2024. "Welfare versus Work under a Negative Income Tax: Evidence from the Gary, Seattle, Denver, and Manitoba Income Maintenance Experiments," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 427-467.
    7. Richard Dorsett, 2021. "A Bayesian structural time series analysis of the effect of basic income on crime: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 184(1), pages 179-200, January.
    8. Cameron, Anna & Tedds, Lindsay M., 2020. "Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) of Two Policy Alternatives: Basic Income and Basic Services," MPRA Paper 105939, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ioana Marinescu, 2018. "No Strings Attached: The Behavioral Effects of U.S. Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs," NBER Working Papers 24337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Büchs, Milena, 2021. "Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    11. Hilary W. Hoynes & Jesse Rothstein, 2019. "Universal Basic Income in the US and Advanced Countries," NBER Working Papers 25538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Tromp, Alexander, 2017. "The Effects of a Hybrid Negative Income Tax on Poverty and Inequality: a Microsimulation on the UK and Italy," EUROMOD Working Papers EM15/17, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    13. Mohammad Rasoolinejad, 2019. "Universal Basic Income: The Last Bullet in the Darkness," Papers 1910.05658, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2021.
    14. Robeyns Ingrid, 2008. "Introduction: Revisiting the Feminism and Basic Income Debate," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-6, December.
    15. Wayne Simpson & Harvey Stevens, 2019. "An Alberta Guaranteed Basic Income: Issues and Options," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 12(15), April.
    16. Giupponi, Giulia, 2019. "When income effects are large: labor supply responses and the value of welfare transfers," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103424, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Giulia Giupponi, 2019. "When income effects are large: labor supply responses and the value of welfare transfers," CEP Discussion Papers dp1651, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Smith-Carrier Tracy A & Green Steven, 2017. "Another Low Road to Basic Income? Mapping a Pragmatic Model for Adopting a Basic Income in Canada," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, December.
    19. Uhde Zuzana, 2018. "Caring Revolutionary Transformation: Combined Effects of a Universal Basic Income and a Public Model of Care," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 1-12, December.
    20. Ron Kneebone & Margarita Wilkins, 2019. "Measuring and Responding to Income Poverty," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 12(3), February.

    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:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:1733-:d:1039343. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.