16917

Basic Income and Inequality

Daniel Louis Nethery

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Subject: In 2021 the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) began paying 122 people €1,200 a month, tax free, no strings attached, for three years. The study, known as the Basic Income Pilot Project, aimed to contribute empirical evidence to the debate over the merits of a basic income. The first results of the experiment will be released in April 2025. Program: We will approach the study of a basic income through the literature on income inequality and its social implications when present at levels observed in Germany today. We will compare the working of a basic income to other types of government transfers in cash and in kind, and analyse their potential to reduce income inequality. We will contrast the experimental design and most important results of the Basic Income Pilot Project to an earlier trial carried out in Finland in 2017–18. And we will survey the structure of the German taxation system and assess the feasibility of funding a basic income. Is this course for me? This course is open to all students. There are no prerequisites. Workload and assessment: During the semester you will be required to read on average 20 pages each week. You will qualify for 5 ECTS points if your attendance is satisfactory, you engage with the course materials, and you pass the examination at the end of the semester. close