Finland, the first country in the world to trial a basic income at a national level, found that distributing free money to the unemployed improves their well-being, but doesn’t appear to have any significant impact on their job prospects.

With rising inequality, the idea of a "universal basic income" as a replacement for means-tested welfare payments has its share of supporters on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. Advocates say it eliminates poverty traps and redistributes income while empowering the individual and reducing paperwork. The concept has inspired Italy’s populist government, which started honoring its election promise of a “citizen’s income” for the poor. Read more ...