{"report":{"id":"74233776","slug":"social-wealth-fund","title":"Social Wealth Fund","publishedStatus":"soon","datePublished":null,"_updatedAt":"2022-11-08T21:28:57-05:00","heroLede":"Also known as \"sovereign wealth funds\", SWF's are collections of income-generating assets, fully owned by the public and managed by government on their behalf, for the purpose of benefitting society on the whole.","heroImage":{"id":"46758308","url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/42525/1653626632-home-hero-bg-white.jpg","alt":null,"title":null,"responsiveImage":{"src":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/42525/1653626632-home-hero-bg-white.jpg?auto=format&q=40&w=2500","alt":null,"aspectRatio":1.9921874999999998,"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAoHBwgHBgoICBILFRELDg8QDRUNDhUMFg0NFxMdGBYVFhUdHysjGh0oHRUWJDUlKC0vMjIyGSI4PTcwPCsxMi8BCgsLDQ0PEAoQHC8cFh0vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vLy8vL//AABEIAA0AGAMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAZAAABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAECBQf/xAAeEAABAwQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAMEARESIQUTFP/EABYBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAP/EABcRAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAhL/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/ANUnTm2gvRBxeWAyspTI4E3tAxYrdD0hcUXvuDFJBdQ4plhh/9k=","bgColor":"#f41c25","height":1254,"width":2500}},"heroImageUsesCodedBackground":null,"stContent":{"value":{"schema":"dast","document":{"type":"root","children":[{"type":"paragraph","children":[{"type":"span","value":"Stay tuned - we're working on our report for social wealth funds. If you'd like to be notified when we publish, "},{"url":"https://lepossibilities.substack.com/","meta":[{"id":"target","value":"_blank"}],"type":"link","children":[{"type":"span","value":"you can join our newsletter"}]},{"type":"span","value":": "}]}]}},"blocks":[],"links":[]},"metaTags":{"title":"Social Wealth Fund","description":"SWF's are collections of income-generating assets, owned by the public & managed by government on their behalf, for social welfare purposes.","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/42525/1652266646-default-cover.jpg","responsiveImage":{"src":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/42525/1652266646-default-cover.jpg?auto=format&q=40&w=1600"}}}},"insights":[{"id":"116254496","lede":"\"Evidence from the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit program (EITC) may shed light on frequency’s impact in high-income economies. EITC recipient households often have limited access to liquidity, such that even a short delay in income payments leads to notable changes in spending. Studies of EITC spending find that recipients allocate most of this income to savings, debt repayments, vehicle purchases, transportation, education investment, and housing. Evidence from the Chicago EITC Periodic Payment Pilot indicates that periodic payments reduce perceived financial stress, diminish debt accumulation and late fees, and improve mental health. This indicates that credit and savings constraints exist in developed country contexts as well, and deserve more study.\"","slug":"relative-to-annual-payments-more-frequent-periodic-payments-of-the-eitc-indicates","title":"Relative to annual payments, more frequent, periodic payments of the EITC indicates that periodic payments reduce perceived financial stress, diminish debt accumulation and late fees, and improve mental health.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"mental-health","name":"Mental health","id":"23916384","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

We define stability as the resiliency, robustness, and constancy of our nested social, financial, and environmental systems. Stability is the degree to which our systems can withstand stress and maintain their functionality over time.

\n\n

Why do we need stability? All else equal, a stable society is preferable to an unstable society. Stability - the product of the harmonious interaction between parts, or interwoven systems - protects against uncertainty and decay. For example, a healthy body regulates its blood glucose levels to provide cells with their required energy. Too much glucose makes cells sticky, with a paralyzing effect. Too little glucose starves them. What's important is the constancy of glucose regulation within functional limits, and the resiliency to maintain this regulation amidst adversity.

\n\n

Instability occurs when systems transgress functional limits, causing the breakdown of other systems and suffering for those who depend on them. When interlocking systems remain stable, they provide a fertile foundation for positive expectations that fuel investments in progress and broad cooperation throughout society.

Universal Basic Income is an unconditional, individual, periodic, cash payment granted to all citizens regardless of income or employment status.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Universal Basic Income is an unconditional, individual, periodic, cash payment granted to all citizens regardless of income or employment status.","featured":null},{"slug":"negative-income-tax","name":"Negative Income Tax (NIT)","id":"23932842","lede":"

Negative Income Tax (NIT) is a form of basic income that phases out as recipient earned income rises. NIT is composed of an "income floor" and a "phaseout rate". The income floor is the amount of cash a recipient with $0 of earned income receives. The phaseout rate is how much the cash benefit is decreased per additional dollar of earned income.

\n\n

For example, consider an NIT with an income floor of $13,000 and a phaseout rate of 50%. A citizen with no income would receive $13,000 per year, often broken up into monthly payments. If the citizen gets a part-time job and begins earning $20,000 per year, they would still receive $3,000 per year in NIT benefits.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Negative Income Tax (NIT) is a form of basic income that phases out as recipient earned income rises. NIT is composed of an \"income floor\" and a \"phaseout rate\". The income floor is the amount of cash a recipient with $0 of earned income receives. The phaseout rate is how much the cash benefit is decreased per additional dollar of earned income.\n\nFor example, consider an NIT with an income floor of $13,000 and a phaseout rate of 50%. A citizen with no income would receive $13,000 per year, often broken up into monthly payments. If the citizen gets a part-time job and begins earning $20,000 per year, they would still receive $3,000 per year in NIT benefits.","featured":null},{"slug":"implementation","name":"Implementation","id":"69609492","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":true},{"slug":"policy-design-details","name":"Policy Design Details","id":"100414960","lede":"

The details of a policy can fundamentally transform its effects. For example, a basic income that replaces all other welfare appeals greatly to conservatives and libertarians, while one that supplements the existing welfare state appeals to progressives.

\n\n

To evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.

The EITC is one of the most successful antipoverty programs in the history of US social policy. It provides a work credit that returns money back to low-income earners at tax time, effectively boosting the earnings of low-income wage-earners.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The EITC is one of the most successful antipoverty programs in the history of US social policy. It provides a work credit that returns money back to low-income earners at tax time, effectively boosting the earnings of low-income wage-earners.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"101097114","lede":"Jain Family Institute's second installation in a four-part series in 'reweaving the safety net', with an eye towards program design for basic income. Here, they focus on the relationship between basic income and other welfare programs. They find that basic income works well when markets work well, but is a poor substitute for public insurance provision.","link":"https://www.jainfamilyinstitute.org/assets/reweaving-the-safety-net-12.15.20.pdf","slug":"reweaving-the-safety-net-the-best-fit-for-guaranteed-income","kind":"Report","title":"Reweaving the Safety Net: The Best Fit For Guaranteed Income","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"101079025","location":"Research Lead, Jain Family Institute","name":"Sidhya Balakrishnan","seoDescription":"","slug":"sidhya-balakrishnan"},{"id":"101079026","location":"","name":"Michael Lewis","seoDescription":"","slug":"michael-lewis"},{"id":"101079028","location":"Jain Family Institute","name":"Stephen Nuñez","seoDescription":"","slug":"stephen-nunez"}]}]},{"id":"116396574","lede":"A common concern over cash transfer programs is that receiving unconditional cash will discourage work. While pilot programs cannot tell us all we need to know about the potential impact of national programs, the bulk of current evidence finds the opposite: receiving cash does not discourage work.","slug":"we-re-analyze-the-data-from-seven-randomized-controlled-trials-of-government-run","title":"We re-analyze the data from seven randomized controlled trials of government-run cash transfer programs in six developing countries throughout the world, and find no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs discourage work.","showTitleAsQuote":true,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"work-incentives","name":"Work Incentives","id":"100746898","lede":"

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

As a result, policy approaches such as unconditional cash transfers to low-income citizens, or raising marginal tax rates on the wealthy are quickly dismissed by economists, under the reasoning that unconditional cash and higher taxes both reduce work incentives.

\n\n

These assumptions have always been sites of theoretical contestation from heterodox economics, but recently, empirical evidence is mounting against these long-held assumptions. Especially around unconditional cash transfers, case studies are finding that they either have no effect on work, or even stimulate economic activity by reducing the risks to entrepreneurship.

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

Amidst debates over the merits of continued growth, we begin with the idea that all else equal, a society with growth, with more wealth, is preferable to one with less. Without growth, society becomes a zero-sum distributional game: anyone's gain is another's loss. Growth (all else equal) enables shared prosperity.

\n\n

But there is broad agreement that current measures of growth, such as GDP, are inadequate to the task of providing a suitable proxy to guide further growth. Whether devising improved measures that account for missing elements such as sustainability, equity, leisure time, or digital value, or constructing altogether new proxies (OECD's Better Life Index, for example), the conversation about how best to measure, and thus drive, equitable, regenerative, socially desirable growth is a rich field of debate.

\n\n

The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a publicly managed investment portfolio funded via a 25% tax on oil revenues. Every Alaskan citizen is an equal shareholder in the returns, and since its inception in the early 1980's, every citizen has received an annual payment – a Permament Fund Dividend (PFD) – generally between $1,000 and $2,000.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a publicly managed investment portfolio funded via a 25% tax on oil revenues. Every Alaskan citizen is an equal shareholder in the returns, and since its inception in the early 1980's, every citizen has received an annual payment generally between $1,000 and $2,000.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"116532574","lede":"The main focus of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) payouts on Alaska's income inequality by taking into account the roles of income and population. To that end, an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the Johansen cointegration approach are applied to annual time series data from 1963 to 2012. We find that the PFD payouts tend to worsen income inequality in Alaska in both the short- and long-run. We also provide evidence to support the existence of Kuznets' hypothesis for Alaska – growth deteriorates income inequality initially and improves it later. Finally, population is found to reduce Alaska's income inequality in the short- and long-run.","link":"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316712983_Can_an_Oil-Rich_Economy_Reduce_its_Income_Inequality_Empirical_Evidence_from_Alaska's_Permanent_Fund_Dividend","slug":"can-an-oil-rich-economy-reduce-its-income-inequality-empirical-evidence-from-alas","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Can an Oil-Rich Economy Reduce its Income Inequality? Empirical Evidence from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend","year":"2017-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"116532572","location":"","name":"Kate Kozminski","seoDescription":"","slug":"kate-kozminski"},{"id":"116532573","location":"University of Alaska, Fairbanks","name":"Jungho Baek","seoDescription":"","slug":"jungho-baek"}]}]},{"id":"117694344","lede":"Broadly, this paper suggests that the construction of the welfare state is not just a result of public attitudes, but that those attitudes are also shaped by the institutional design of the welfare state. Universal programs build broader support.","slug":"the-more-inclusive-welfare-programs-are-the-more-political-support-they-generate","title":"The more inclusive welfare programs are, the more political support they generate.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"universalism","name":"Universalism","id":"101707811","lede":"

One of the defining conflicts of economic discourse today is the debate over whether government programs should be 'targeted' to particular demographics - such as stimulus payments only going to those who earn less than $75,000 per year - or if they should be 'universal', provided to all citizens (and taxed to adjust distribution afterwards).

\n\n

Universal programs boast the virtue of simplicity, while carrying the burden of size. Universal programs require far less bureaucracy, since no determination of who is eligible for payments is required. Advocates suggest that society can still tailor the distributional effects of universal programs by taxing 'on the backend'. But universal programs thus carry significantly higher gross costs, and require greater disbursement of public funds up front.

\n\n

Targeted programs effectively 'tax on the frontend', adjusting the distribution of a program before giving it out. Thus, they have smaller price tags, but require more complex infrastructure to keep track of eligibility and adjust accordingly.

\n\n

To evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The details of a policy can fundamentally transform its effects. For example, a basic income that replaces all other welfare appeals greatly to conservatives and libertarians, while one that supplements the existing welfare state appeals to progressives.\n\nTo evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.","featured":true},{"slug":"implementation","name":"Implementation","id":"69609492","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"117694339","lede":"How does the structure of social policy institutions shape the level of public support for the welfare state? The policy feedback literature predicts that highly inclusive welfare institutions generate larger bases of public support by shifting the focus away from redistribution and toward common market insecurities felt across classes, while more selective strategies erode support by highlighting the conflicts of interest imbedded in clearly redistributive social programs. This paper expands on existing research by adopting a disaggregated approach to measuring both welfare state structure and public support, uncovering important cross-program variations in public attitudes and welfare state design masked by traditional measures of universality and public support. This project applies this method to public opinion data in 17 advanced capitalist democracies across three policy areas: healthcare, pensions, and unemployment. The findings offer evidence of policy feedback effects.","link":"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958928712471224","slug":"policy-feedback-and-support-for-the-welfare-state","kind":"Article","title":"Policy Feedback and Support For the Welfare State","year":"2013-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694338","location":"Drew University, Associate Professor","name":"Jason Jordan","seoDescription":"","slug":"jason-jordan"}]}]},{"id":"118617133","lede":"The unconditional wasn't exactly unconditional. Children were required to complete high school in order to receive the money by 18. Without completing high school, they had to wait unitl 21.","slug":"an-additional-usd4k-yr-for-the-poorest-households-increases-educational-attainmen","title":"An additional $4k/yr for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"education","name":"Education","id":"101119962","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define stability as the resiliency, robustness, and constancy of our nested social, financial, and environmental systems. Stability is the degree to which our systems can withstand stress and maintain their functionality over time. \n\nWhy do we need stability? All else equal, a stable society is preferable to an unstable society. Stability - the product of the harmonious interaction between parts, or interwoven systems - protects against uncertainty and decay. For example, a healthy body regulates its blood glucose levels to provide cells with their required energy. Too much glucose makes cells sticky, with a paralyzing effect. Too little glucose starves them. What's important is the constancy of glucose regulation within functional limits, and the resiliency to maintain this regulation amidst adversity.\n\nInstability occurs when systems transgress functional limits, causing the breakdown of other systems and suffering for those who depend on them. When interlocking systems remain stable, they provide a fertile foundation for positive expectations that fuel investments in progress and broad cooperation throughout society.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]},{"id":"117694300","lede":"The universal basic income has become a widely discussed measure in policy circles around the world. In this review, we cover the evidence relevant to its potential impact in the US, and in developed countries more generally. Many studies find no statistically significant effect of an unconditional cash transfer on the probability of working. In the studies that do find an effect on labor supply, the effect is small: a 10% income increase induced by an unconditional cash transfer decreases labor supply by about 1%. The evidence shows that an unconditional cash transfer can improve health and educational outcomes, and decrease criminality and drug & alcohol use, especially among the most disadvantaged youths.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24337","slug":"no-strings-attached-the-behavioral-effects-of-u-s-unconditional-cash-transfer-pro","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"No Strings Attached: The Behavioral Effects of U.S. Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs","year":"2018-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"}]}]},{"id":"118617127","lede":"“The findings also indicate that mothers who receive the exogenous increase in incomes affect the the child’s educational outcome, while fathers who receive the income affect the child’s criminal behavior.”","slug":"which-parent-receives-unconditional-income-affects-child-outcomes","title":"Which parent receives unconditional income affects child outcomes.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"implementation","name":"Implementation","id":"69609492","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":true},{"slug":"policy-design-details","name":"Policy Design Details","id":"100414960","lede":"

\n\n

To evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The details of a policy can fundamentally transform its effects. For example, a basic income that replaces all other welfare appeals greatly to conservatives and libertarians, while one that supplements the existing welfare state appeals to progressives.\n\nTo evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]}]},{"id":"118617126","lede":"The experiment took place in North Carolina.","slug":"in-the-case-of-an-unconditional-usd4-000-provided-to-american-indian-families-fin","title":"In the case of an unconditional $4,000 provided to American Indian families financed via casino profits, recipient parents did not reduce labor hours.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"work-incentives","name":"Work Incentives","id":"100746898","lede":"

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a \"a bigger pie\".\n\nAmidst debates over the merits of continued growth, we begin with the idea that *all else equal*, a society with growth, with more wealth, is preferable to one with less. Without growth, society becomes a zero-sum distributional game: anyone's gain is another's loss. Growth (all else equal) enables shared prosperity.\n\nBut there is broad agreement that current measures of growth, such as GDP, are inadequate to the task of providing a suitable proxy to guide further growth. Whether devising revised measures, such as Tyler Cowen's notion of wealth plus\" (GDP, plus measures of leisure time, household production, and environmental considerations), or constructing altogether new proxies (OECD's 'Better Life Index), the conversation about how best to measure, and thus drive, equitable, regenerative, socially desirable growth is a rich field of debate.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]}]},{"id":"118617115","lede":"\"We find that parental interactions and experiences with the children in the affected households tend to improve dramatically. Both child and parent report improved behavioral effects and parent-child interactions relative to unaffected households. We observe that parent behavior, similar to criminal behavior.\n\nPrevious research has found a direct relationship between poverty and parenting ability (Jane D. McLeod and Michael J. Shanahan 1993; Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub 1994; Nicole E. Ennis, Stevan E. Hobfoll, and Kerstin E. E. Schröder 2000), and we confirm this result in our research. There is at least some indication that one of the mechanisms responsible for translating higher household incomes into better child outcomes is through increased parental quality, while parenting time does not appear to have been an important causal factor.\"","slug":"unconditional-income-improves-parental-quality","title":"Unconditional income improves parental quality.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

Poverty is an economic condition with consequences that ripple out into many dimensions of social life. Poverty is a significant factor in crime, physical health, mental health, and parental quality.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Poverty is an economic condition with consequences that ripple out into many dimensions of social life. Poverty is a significant factor in crime, physical health, mental health, and parental quality.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]}]},{"id":"118617111","lede":"\"It is important to note that the American Indian children had an incentive to finish high school by age 18 as they became eligible for payment of the semi-annual casino payments themselves; otherwise they would have to wait until age 21.\"","slug":"american-indian-children-were-required-to-finish-high-school-in-order-to-receive","title":"American Indian children were required to finish high school in order to receive an unconditional $4,000 per year, otherwise they had to wait until 21.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"policy-design-details","name":"Policy Design Details","id":"100414960","lede":"

\n\n

To evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The details of a policy can fundamentally transform its effects. For example, a basic income that replaces all other welfare appeals greatly to conservatives and libertarians, while one that supplements the existing welfare state appeals to progressives.\n\nTo evaluate any policy in full, we must know the details of its implementation.","featured":true},{"slug":"implementation","name":"Implementation","id":"69609492","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":true},{"slug":"education","name":"Education","id":"101119962","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]}]},{"id":"118617104","lede":"\"The results for parental arrests indicate that parents are engaging in less destructive behavior as a result of the increased income......with regard to the criminal arrests, American Indians (who received unconditional income) have diverged and now are less likely than the non-American Indians (whose rates of arrests remained constant over time) to commit these minor crimes.\"","slug":"unconditional-income-an-additional-usd4-000-per-year-reduced-arrests-for-16-and-1","title":"Unconditional income (an additional $4,000 per year) reduced arrests for 16 and 17 year olds by 22%.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"social-costs-of-poverty","name":"Social Costs of Poverty","id":"101706853","lede":"

Poverty is an economic condition with consequences that ripple out into many dimensions of social life. Poverty is a significant factor in crime, physical health, mental health, and parental quality.

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define stability as the resiliency, robustness, and constancy of our nested social, financial, and environmental systems. Stability is the degree to which our systems can withstand stress and maintain their functionality over time. \n\nWhy do we need stability? All else equal, a stable society is preferable to an unstable society. Stability - the product of the harmonious interaction between parts, or interwoven systems - protects against uncertainty and decay. For example, a healthy body regulates its blood glucose levels to provide cells with their required energy. Too much glucose makes cells sticky, with a paralyzing effect. Too little glucose starves them. What's important is the constancy of glucose regulation within functional limits, and the resiliency to maintain this regulation amidst adversity.\n\nInstability occurs when systems transgress functional limits, causing the breakdown of other systems and suffering for those who depend on them. When interlocking systems remain stable, they provide a fertile foundation for positive expectations that fuel investments in progress and broad cooperation throughout society.","featured":true},{"slug":"crime","name":"Crime","id":"118617103","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"118617098","lede":"\"We examine the role an exogenous increase in household income, due to a government transfer unrelated to household characteristics, plays in children’s long-run outcomes. Children in affected households have higher levels of education in their young adulthood and a lower incidence of criminality for minor offenses. Effects differ by initial household poverty status. An additional $4,000 per year for the poorest households increases educational attainment by one year at age 21, and reduces the chances of committing a minor crime by 22 percent for 16 and 17 year olds. Our evidence suggests improved parental quality is a likely mechanism for the change.\"","link":"https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/3357/284558700004.pdf","slug":"parents-income-and-children-s-outcomes","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Parents' Income and Children's Outcomes","year":"2010-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118617081","location":"Tufts University, Department of Economics","name":"Randall K. Q. Akee","seoDescription":"","slug":"randall-k-q-akee"},{"id":"118617084","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"William E. Copeland","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-e-copeland"},{"id":"118617092","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Gordon Keeler","seoDescription":"","slug":"gordon-keeler"},{"id":"118617095","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"Adrian Angold","seoDescription":"","slug":"adrian-angold"},{"id":"118617097","location":"Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences","name":"E. Jane Costello","seoDescription":"","slug":"e-jane-costello"}]}]},{"id":"118562810","lede":"The Manitoba experiment tested a negative income tax; the Alaskan experiment tests a demogrant (universal payout to all citizens); the Cherokee experiment tests a more targeted demogrant.","slug":"evidence-from-alaska-native-casino-payouts-and-manitoba-all-found-no-statisticall","title":"Evidence from Alaska, Native casino payouts, and Manitoba all found no statistically significant changes in labor supply.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"work-incentives","name":"Work Incentives","id":"100746898","lede":"

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a \"a bigger pie\".\n\nAmidst debates over the merits of continued growth, we begin with the idea that *all else equal*, a society with growth, with more wealth, is preferable to one with less. Without growth, society becomes a zero-sum distributional game: anyone's gain is another's loss. Growth (all else equal) enables shared prosperity.\n\nBut there is broad agreement that current measures of growth, such as GDP, are inadequate to the task of providing a suitable proxy to guide further growth. Whether devising revised measures, such as Tyler Cowen's notion of wealth plus\" (GDP, plus measures of leisure time, household production, and environmental considerations), or constructing altogether new proxies (OECD's 'Better Life Index), the conversation about how best to measure, and thus drive, equitable, regenerative, socially desirable growth is a rich field of debate.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118562618","lede":"\"We discuss the potential role of Universal Basic Incomes (UBIs) in advanced countries. A feature of advanced economies that distinguishes them from developing countries is the existence of well developed, if often incomplete, safety nets. We develop a framework for describing transfer programs, flexible enough to encompass most existing programs as well as UBIs, and use this framework to compare various UBIs to the existing constellation of programs in the United States. A UBI would direct much larger shares of transfers to childless, non-elderly, non-disabled households than existing programs, and much more to middle-income rather than poor households. A UBI large enough to increase transfers to low-income families would be enormously expensive. We review the labor supply literature for evidence on the likely impacts of a UBI. We argue that the ongoing UBI pilot studies will do little to resolve the major outstanding questions.\"","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w25538","slug":"ubi-in-the-us-and-advanced-countries","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"UBI in the US and Advanced Countries","year":"2019-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"118562565","location":"Research Associate at University of California, Berkeley","name":"Hilary W. Hoynes","seoDescription":"","slug":"hilary-w-hoynes"},{"id":"118562605","location":"Research Associate at University of California, Berkeley","name":"Jesse Rothstein","seoDescription":"","slug":"jesse-rothstein"}]},{"id":"117694300","lede":"The universal basic income has become a widely discussed measure in policy circles around the world. In this review, we cover the evidence relevant to its potential impact in the US, and in developed countries more generally. Many studies find no statistically significant effect of an unconditional cash transfer on the probability of working. In the studies that do find an effect on labor supply, the effect is small: a 10% income increase induced by an unconditional cash transfer decreases labor supply by about 1%. The evidence shows that an unconditional cash transfer can improve health and educational outcomes, and decrease criminality and drug & alcohol use, especially among the most disadvantaged youths.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24337","slug":"no-strings-attached-the-behavioral-effects-of-u-s-unconditional-cash-transfer-pro","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"No Strings Attached: The Behavioral Effects of U.S. Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs","year":"2018-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"}]},{"id":"117693437","lede":"The review surveyed 18 empirical cases and 38 studies. Instead, in some cases, especially in developing countries, cash transfers increased employment. A few decreases in working hours were found among the following demographics: children, the elderly, the sick, those with disabilities, and women with young children to look after.","link":"https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202008.0638/v1","slug":"is-there-empirical-evidence-on-how-the-implementation-of-a-universal-basic-income","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Is There Empirical Evidence on How the Implementation of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) Affects Labour Supply? A Systematic Review","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117693297","location":"Universidad de Huelva","name":"Manuela A. De Paz-Báñez","seoDescription":"","slug":"manuela-a-de-paz-banez"},{"id":"117693342","location":"","name":"María José Asensio-Coto","seoDescription":"","slug":"maria-jose-asensio-coto"},{"id":"117693433","location":"","name":"Celia Sánchez-López","seoDescription":"","slug":"celia-sanchez-lopez"},{"id":"117693436","location":"","name":"María-Teresa Aceytuno","seoDescription":"","slug":"maria-teresa-aceytuno"}]}]},{"id":"118561670","lede":"\"In our preferred specification, we do not detect any effect of the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend on employment, i.e. the extensive margin. We do, however, estimate a positive increase of 1.8 percentage points, or 17 percent, in the share of all Alaskans who work in part-time jobs.\"","slug":"the-alaska-permanent-fund-had-no-impact-on-full-time-employment","title":"The Alaska Permanent Fund had no impact on full-time employment.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"employment","name":"Employment","id":"23932807","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"growth","name":"Growth","id":"23932836","lede":"

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Neoclassically-informed economic models - which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years - operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work, as do unconditional cash transfers.\n\nAs a result, policy approaches such as raising marginal tax rates on the wealthy are quickly dismissed by economists, under the reasoning that doing so would discourage their work, and hurt growth overall. Similarly, cash transfer programs have been tied to work requirements in order to mitigate the risk of discouraging work.\n\nThese assumptions have always been sites of theoretical contestation from heterodox economics, but recently, empirical evidence is mounting against these long-held assumptions. Especially around unconditional cash transfers, case studies are finding that they either have no effect on work, or even stimulate economic activity by reducing the risks to entrepreneurship.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118560920","lede":"How would universal and permanent cash transfers affect the labor market? Since 1982, all Alaskan residents have received a yearly cash dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Using data from the Current Population Survey and a synthetic control method, we show that the dividend had no effect on employment, and increased part-time work by 1.8 percentage points (17%). We calibrate expected micro and macro effects of the cash transfer using prior literature, and find our results to be consistent with cash stimulating the local economy — a general equilibrium effect. We further show that non-tradable sectors have a more positive employment response than tradable sectors. Overall, our results suggest that a universal and permanent cash transfer does not significantly decrease aggregate employment.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24312","slug":"labor-market-impacts-of-universal-and-permanent-cash-transfers-evidence-from-the","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"},{"id":"118560861","location":"University of Chicago","name":"Damon Jones","seoDescription":"","slug":"damon-jones"}]},{"id":"117694300","lede":"The universal basic income has become a widely discussed measure in policy circles around the world. In this review, we cover the evidence relevant to its potential impact in the US, and in developed countries more generally. Many studies find no statistically significant effect of an unconditional cash transfer on the probability of working. In the studies that do find an effect on labor supply, the effect is small: a 10% income increase induced by an unconditional cash transfer decreases labor supply by about 1%. The evidence shows that an unconditional cash transfer can improve health and educational outcomes, and decrease criminality and drug & alcohol use, especially among the most disadvantaged youths.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24337","slug":"no-strings-attached-the-behavioral-effects-of-u-s-unconditional-cash-transfer-pro","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"No Strings Attached: The Behavioral Effects of U.S. Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs","year":"2018-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"}]}]},{"id":"118561205","lede":"\"In our preferred specification, we do not detect any effect of the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend on employment, i.e. the extensive margin. We do, however, estimate a positive increase of 1.8 percentage points, or 17 percent, in the share of all Alaskans who work in part-time jobs.\"","slug":"the-alaska-permanent-fund-increased-part-time-employment-by-1-8","title":"The Alaska Permanent Fund *increased* part-time employment by 1.8%.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"work-incentives","name":"Work Incentives","id":"100746898","lede":"

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

In economics, consumption is the use of resources to satisfy current needs and wants. This is in contrast to spending resources for future income, known as investing.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"In economics, consumption is the use of resources to satisfy current needs and wants. This is in contrast to spending resources for future income, known as investing.","featured":null},{"slug":"growth","name":"Growth","id":"23932836","lede":"

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"One of the defining conflicts of economic discourse today is the debate over whether government programs should be 'targeted' to particular demographics - such as stimulus payments only going to those who earn less than $75,000 per year - or if they should be 'universal', provided to all citizens.\n\nUniversal programs boast the virtue of simplicity, while carrying the burden of size. Universal programs require far less bureaucracy, since no determination of who is eligible for payments is required. Advocates suggest that society can still tailor the distributional effects of universal programs by taxing 'on the backend'. But universal programs thus carry significantly higher gross costs, and require greater disbursement of public funds up front.\n\nTargeted programs effectively 'tax on the frontend', adjusting the distribution of a program before giving it out. Thus, they have smaller price tags, but require more complex infrastructure to keep track of eligibility and adjust accordingly.","featured":true},{"slug":"employment","name":"Employment","id":"23932807","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"118560920","lede":"How would universal and permanent cash transfers affect the labor market? Since 1982, all Alaskan residents have received a yearly cash dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Using data from the Current Population Survey and a synthetic control method, we show that the dividend had no effect on employment, and increased part-time work by 1.8 percentage points (17%). We calibrate expected micro and macro effects of the cash transfer using prior literature, and find our results to be consistent with cash stimulating the local economy — a general equilibrium effect. We further show that non-tradable sectors have a more positive employment response than tradable sectors. Overall, our results suggest that a universal and permanent cash transfer does not significantly decrease aggregate employment.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24312","slug":"labor-market-impacts-of-universal-and-permanent-cash-transfers-evidence-from-the","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"},{"id":"118560861","location":"University of Chicago","name":"Damon Jones","seoDescription":"","slug":"damon-jones"}]}]},{"id":"118560962","lede":"\"A representative survey of Alaskans conducted in March and April of 2017 (Harstad, 2017) shows that the dividends are popular and significant to Alaskan residents. For example, 40 % of respondents say the yearly dividends have made a great deal or quite a bit of difference in their lives over the past five years, while only 20 percent say it has made no difference. Interestingly, Alaskans were also asked about how the dividend affects work incentives and willingness to work: 55 percent report no effect, 21 percent a positive effect, and 16 percent a negative effect. Thus, the majority of Alaskans report that the dividend has little to no effect on work.\"","slug":"21-of-alaskan-s-report-that-dividends-from-the-alaska-permanent-fund-increased-th","title":"21% of Alaskan's report that dividends from the Alaska Permanent Fund *increased* their willingness and incentives to work.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"work-incentives","name":"Work Incentives","id":"100746898","lede":"

Neoclassically-informed economic models — which held sway over policymaking for at least the last 50 years — operate on the assumption that raising taxes discourages work.

\n\n

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"One of the defining conflicts of economic discourse today is the debate over whether government programs should be 'targeted' to particular demographics - such as stimulus payments only going to those who earn less than $75,000 per year - or if they should be 'universal', provided to all citizens.\n\nUniversal programs boast the virtue of simplicity, while carrying the burden of size. Universal programs require far less bureaucracy, since no determination of who is eligible for payments is required. Advocates suggest that society can still tailor the distributional effects of universal programs by taxing 'on the backend'. But universal programs thus carry significantly higher gross costs, and require greater disbursement of public funds up front.\n\nTargeted programs effectively 'tax on the frontend', adjusting the distribution of a program before giving it out. Thus, they have smaller price tags, but require more complex infrastructure to keep track of eligibility and adjust accordingly.","featured":true}],"sources":[{"id":"118560920","lede":"How would universal and permanent cash transfers affect the labor market? Since 1982, all Alaskan residents have received a yearly cash dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund. Using data from the Current Population Survey and a synthetic control method, we show that the dividend had no effect on employment, and increased part-time work by 1.8 percentage points (17%). We calibrate expected micro and macro effects of the cash transfer using prior literature, and find our results to be consistent with cash stimulating the local economy — a general equilibrium effect. We further show that non-tradable sectors have a more positive employment response than tradable sectors. Overall, our results suggest that a universal and permanent cash transfer does not significantly decrease aggregate employment.","link":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w24312","slug":"labor-market-impacts-of-universal-and-permanent-cash-transfers-evidence-from-the","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Labor Market Impacts of Universal and Permanent Cash Transfers: Evidence from the Alaska Permanent Fund","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"117694297","location":"University of Pennsylvania","name":"Ioana Marinescu","seoDescription":"","slug":"ioana-marinescu"},{"id":"118560861","location":"University of Chicago","name":"Damon Jones","seoDescription":"","slug":"damon-jones"}]}]},{"id":"116532578","lede":"Findings were generated using an autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration and the Johansen cointegration approach, applied to annual time series data from 1963 to 2012.","slug":"alaska-permanent-fund-dividends-were-found-to-increase-income-inequality","title":"Alaska Permanent Fund dividends were found to increase income inequality.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"econometric","reports":[{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"},{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"}],"tags":[{"slug":"inequality","name":"Inequality","id":"69359341","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a publicly managed investment portfolio funded via a 25% tax on oil revenues. Every Alaskan citizen is an equal shareholder in the returns, and since its inception in the early 1980's, every citizen has received an annual payment generally between $1,000 and $2,000.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"116532574","lede":"The main focus of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) payouts on Alaska's income inequality by taking into account the roles of income and population. To that end, an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the Johansen cointegration approach are applied to annual time series data from 1963 to 2012. We find that the PFD payouts tend to worsen income inequality in Alaska in both the short- and long-run. We also provide evidence to support the existence of Kuznets' hypothesis for Alaska – growth deteriorates income inequality initially and improves it later. Finally, population is found to reduce Alaska's income inequality in the short- and long-run.","link":"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316712983_Can_an_Oil-Rich_Economy_Reduce_its_Income_Inequality_Empirical_Evidence_from_Alaska's_Permanent_Fund_Dividend","slug":"can-an-oil-rich-economy-reduce-its-income-inequality-empirical-evidence-from-alas","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Can an Oil-Rich Economy Reduce its Income Inequality? Empirical Evidence from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend","year":"2017-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"116532572","location":"","name":"Kate Kozminski","seoDescription":"","slug":"kate-kozminski"},{"id":"116532573","location":"University of Alaska, Fairbanks","name":"Jungho Baek","seoDescription":"","slug":"jungho-baek"}]}]},{"id":"116532575","lede":"While experimental results generally suggest the Alaska Permanent Fund dividends either decreased inequality, or had no effect, these cannot rule out the long-term possibility that universal transfers may increase inequality by allowing high-income recipients to simply invest the transfer in higher-yield assets, while those with lower incomes must spend the transfer on immediate consumption.","slug":"higher-income-people-might-invest-more-of-a-cash-transfer-into-higher-yield-asset","title":"Higher-income people might invest more of a cash-transfer into higher yield assets than those with lower-incomes, exacerbating income inequality in the long-run.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"theoretical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"inequality","name":"Inequality","id":"69359341","lede":"","ledeExcerpt":"","featured":null},{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a publicly managed investment portfolio funded via a 25% tax on oil revenues. Every Alaskan citizen is an equal shareholder in the returns, and since its inception in the early 1980's, every citizen has received an annual payment generally between $1,000 and $2,000.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"116532574","lede":"The main focus of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) payouts on Alaska's income inequality by taking into account the roles of income and population. To that end, an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the Johansen cointegration approach are applied to annual time series data from 1963 to 2012. We find that the PFD payouts tend to worsen income inequality in Alaska in both the short- and long-run. We also provide evidence to support the existence of Kuznets' hypothesis for Alaska – growth deteriorates income inequality initially and improves it later. Finally, population is found to reduce Alaska's income inequality in the short- and long-run.","link":"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316712983_Can_an_Oil-Rich_Economy_Reduce_its_Income_Inequality_Empirical_Evidence_from_Alaska's_Permanent_Fund_Dividend","slug":"can-an-oil-rich-economy-reduce-its-income-inequality-empirical-evidence-from-alas","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Can an Oil-Rich Economy Reduce its Income Inequality? Empirical Evidence from Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend","year":"2017-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"116532572","location":"","name":"Kate Kozminski","seoDescription":"","slug":"kate-kozminski"},{"id":"116532573","location":"University of Alaska, Fairbanks","name":"Jungho Baek","seoDescription":"","slug":"jungho-baek"}]}]},{"id":"116527387","lede":"\"Two features of the dividend—it is an equal distribution to all residents and it is taxable as personal income by the federal government—contribute to it helping to level the income distribution. The dividend adds a larger percentage to after-tax income at the lower end of the distribution than at the upper end.\"","slug":"alaska-s-permanent-fund-dividends-help-reduce-alaskan-income-inequality","title":"Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividends help reduce Alaskan income inequality.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"theoretical","reports":[{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"},{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"}],"tags":[{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.

\n\n

Examples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.

\n\n

By way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.\n\nExamples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.\n\nBy way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"114754594","lede":"Studies the relationship between expanding public health insurance and raising entrepreneurship, measured via firm formation rates. Finds the Child Health Insurance Program lowered the child uninsured rate by 40% and increased self-employment by 15%. Author suggests that findings indicate that stronger safety nets may benefit entrepreneurship. ","link":"https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/16-144_d9ce8326-eeaa-4650-a8af-6ff03c3f7e77.pdf","slug":"entrepreneurship-and-public-health-insurance","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Entrepreneurship and Public Health Insurance","year":"2022-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"114754586","location":"Harvard University","name":"Gareth Olds","seoDescription":"","slug":"gareth-olds"}]}]},{"id":"113764635","lede":"Much has been said about the relationship between overall government spending and entrepreneurship (generally chiding the stifling bureaucracy of 'big government'), but we can go a level deeper, asking not about the general size of government, but the way it allocates its budget. That different types of government spending have different effects on entrepreneurship dissolves the old stereotype, opening a new question: what times of government spending are most conducive to entrepreneurship?","slug":"allocating-more-government-spending-towards-social-and-public-goods-relative-to-p","title":"Allocating more government spending towards social and public goods relative to private subsidies is positively associated with entrepreneurship.","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"safety-net","name":"Safety Net","id":"102567776","lede":"

The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.

\n\n

Examples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.

\n\n

By way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.

We define growth as the expansion of wealth in society; growth is about generating a "a bigger pie".

\n\n

Public goods are commodities or services made available to all members of a society that are non-rivalrous, meaning one's use of the good or service does not diminish from another's. Examples may include national defense, infrastructure, education, or environmental protection.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Public goods are commodities or services made available to all members of a society that are non-rivalrous, meaning one's use of the good or service does not diminish from another's. Examples may include national defense, infrastructure, education, or environmental protection.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"113764538","lede":"While previous studies established a negative relationship between total government spending & entrepreneurship, this paper studies a layer deeper, looking at the relationship between the composition of government spending and entrepreneurship under the assumption of credit market imperfections. The author finds a positive relationship between increasing the share of social and public goods relative to private subsidies and other forms of 'government consumption'.","link":"https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2549985","slug":"entrepreneurship-and-the-allocation-of-government-spending-under-imperfect-market","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Entrepreneurship and the Allocation of Government Spending Under Imperfect Markets","year":"2016-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"113764509","location":"World Bank Development Economics Group","name":"Asif Islam","seoDescription":"","slug":"asif-islam"}]}]},{"id":"113762737","lede":"The UBI amount is based on family size and composition. It would be provided quarterly to each family, for an annual reimbursement equal to two times the poverty line, multiplied by the VAT rate. For example, with a 10% VAT, a family of four would receive $5,200 per year. On these scheme, after-tax income would rise by 16.9% for the lowest quintile, 4.6% for the second, remain virtually unchanged or the middle (0.1%), reduce the fourth quintile by 2.4%, and the top quintile by 4.7%.","slug":"a-10-value-added-tax-coupled-with-partial-ubi-would-reduce-inequality-raising-the","title":"A 10% value-added tax coupled with partial UBI would reduce inequality, raising the after-tax income of the bottom three income quintiles. ","showTitleAsQuote":false,"epistemicStatus":"empirical","reports":[{"id":"19519421","title":"Basic Income","slug":"basic-income"},{"id":"74233776","title":"Social Wealth Fund","slug":"social-wealth-fund"}],"tags":[{"slug":"stability","name":"Stability","id":"23916385","lede":"

\n\n

The safety net refers to government programs that unconditionally assure a minimum amount of welfare that no citizen can fall below.

\n\n

Examples of safety net programs include SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, and basic income.

\n\n

By way of example, imagine a tight-rope strung across a deep chasm. If falling to the ground poses danger, a safety net is strung to catch anyone who falls, mitigating the danger.

Universal Basic Income is an unconditional, individual, periodic, cash payment granted to all citizens regardless of income or employment status.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"Universal Basic Income is an unconditional, individual, periodic, cash payment granted to all citizens regardless of income or employment status.","featured":null},{"slug":"value-added-tax","name":"Value-Added Tax","id":"113762711","lede":"

A VAT is a consumption tax on goods and services that gets applied at each stage of the supply chain where value is added. VAT raises nearly a fifth of all tax revenue worldwide. As of 2018, 166 of 193 countries with full UN membership have a VAT, including all OECD members except the United States. In the US, many states use a sales tax system instead.

\n","ledeExcerpt":"A VAT is a consumption tax on goods and services that gets applied at each stage of the supply chain where value is added. VAT raises nearly a fifth of all tax revenue worldwide. As of 2018, 166 of 193 countries with full UN membership have a VAT, including all OECD members except the United States. In the US, many states use a sales tax system instead.","featured":null}],"sources":[{"id":"113762492","lede":"In this chapter from *Tackling the Tax Code: Efficient and Equitable Ways to Raise Revenue*, Gale proposes a VAT with: a broad base, a standard rate applied to all taxable purchases, an exemption for small businesses with gross annual revenue below $200k, and a refundable credit (UBI) to all households to make the tax progressive.","link":"https://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/Gale_LO_01.13.pdf","slug":"raising-revenue-with-a-progressive-value-added-tax","kind":"Academic Paper","title":"Raising Revenue with a Progressive Value-Added Tax","year":"2020-01-01","researchers":[{"id":"113762491","location":"Brookings Institution","name":"William Gale","seoDescription":"","slug":"william-gale"}]}]}]}