A Dutch city is giving money away to test the basic income theory

Re:A Dutch city is giving money away to test the basic incom... by Rumford on Thursday July 02, 2015 @06:49AM (#9818043)

Economic experiments can never really have a control group, so what the Dutch government learns from this will depend greatly on the theory they already have when interpreting the data.

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Re:A Dutch city is giving money away to test the basic incom... by mattchew on Thursday July 02, 2015 @08:58AM (#9818495)

IIRC the previous article I read on this, the Dutch are at least attempting to set up a control group.

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Re:A Dutch city is giving money away to test the basic incom... by Rumford on Thursday July 02, 2015 @03:10PM (#9820954)

I suppose they should be commended for the effort, but the other issue is that the experimental group is unlikely to represent what things would be like under a truly universal basic income. Incentives throughout the economy will shift and cause reactions none of us can predict, except in very broad strokes. For example, €1000/mo for a tiny experimental group will probably not have the same buying power as the same amount given to millions.

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