The COVID‐19 pandemic: Time for a universal basic income?
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Author | Andrew F. Johnson,Katherine J. Roberto |
| Date | 01 October 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1891 |
DOI: 10.1002/pad.1891
COMMENTARY
The COVID‐19 pandemic: Time for a universal basic income?
Andrew F. Johnson
|Katherine J. Roberto
Department of Management and Marketing, Texas A&M University‐Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Correspondence
Andrew F. Johnson, Department of Management and Marketing, Texas A&M University‐Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5808 Corpus Christi,
TX 78414, USA.
Email: andrew.johnson@tamucc.edu
KEYWORDS
COVID‐19, economic relief, universal basic income
1
|
INTRODUCTION
At the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, governments have strug-
gled to address both the healthcare crisis and rapidly devolving
economic conditions. These events have pushed governments to
consider large economic relief programs. In the United States,
congress approved an over $2 trillion relief package to combat the
devastating economic decline. However, most families spent their
one‐time cash payment on rent and food during the month it was
provided. This left many to face uncertain futures as their ability to
earn an income diminished and the promise of additional relief
waned. Universal basic income (UBI) is one program which provides a
regular disbursement to individuals without means testing or other
action on the part of recipient (Van Parijs, 2013). The program is one
potential tool for combating recession, mass unemployment, and
wide‐spread business closures. Within the context of the COVID‐19
pandemic, this article discusses the use of UBI to meet these chal-
lenging circumstances. Given the depth of the economic issues, UBI
may be suited to address these challenges as opposed to, or in
conjunction with, other relief measures. Discussion is focused on how
UBI may serve as a public policy response to the COVID‐19
pandemic and its implications.
2
|
UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME
A UBI program consists of payments disbursed by the government to
citizens to provide a baseline of income in order to alleviate poverty,
spur economic growth, generate entrepreneurial activity, and replace
jobs lost due to technological innovation (BIEN, 2020; D'Mello,
2019). UBI programs should meet three criteria as follows:
(1) distributed to individuals, (2) not means tested, and (3) no
attached requirements to receiving the payment (e.g., seeking
employment or attending school; Van Parijs, 2013). Two additional
considerations for programs are regular intervals for payments and
the freedom to choose how the money may be used (BIEN, 2020).
Several nations have previously considered UBI including Brazil,
Canada, Finland, India, Kenya, and Switzerland (BIEN, 2020; D'Mello,
2019). Alaska, a conservative‐leaning state, has the longest standing
UBI supplemented by oil revenue since the 1980s. This program has
reduced the rate of poverty among indigenous people with particu-
larly notable progress for children and the elderly (Hanna & Olken,
2018). Some oil rich nations in the Middle East have similar programs
(Van Parijs, 2013).
UBI is often associated with alleviating mass poverty or financial
hardship (e.g., mass unemployment) as it tends to be more beneficial
for the most vulnerable in the population as opposed to the middle or
upper classes (Lowrey, 2018). However, even in wealthy nations,
such as the United States, a major illness or the loss of a job may lead
to financial collapse for many middle‐class families. As such, an
argument exists for even wealthy nations to implement a UBI.
2.1
|
COVID‐19 pandemic
First identified in China in late 2019, the COVID‐19 pandemic has led
to a health crisis and financial difficulty for millions of people. As of
17 July 2020, 14 million cases worldwide (3.6 million United States)
have tested positive for infection (Johns Hopkins, 2020). Evidence
from Italy, Spain, South Korea, China, and the United States show
that large number of patients can overwhelm healthcare resources
(Johns Hopkins, 2020). Thus, large scale “lock‐downs” and other
measures have been implemented to curb the progression of the
virus. The economic fallout has led to mass unemployment and
232
-
Public Admin Dev. 2020;40:232–235. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pad © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting