Discussion Papers

The USBIG discussion paper series makes available papers in progress about or relating to the Basic Income Guarantee as a forum for discussion in advance of publication. If you would like to submit a paper for this series, send an electronic copy to Karl@Widerquist.com. Please follow the instructions for authors for all submissions.

Click the links at the head of each column to sort by, author, date (chronologically or reserve-chronologically), title, or number.

# Date / reverse Author a - z Title a - z
188
 March 2008 Widerquist, Karl Status Freedom
187
 February 2008 Nathanson, Stephen
 The Decent Level Criterion of Justice and Its Competitors
186
 February 2008 Mulvale, Jim
 The Guaranteed Adequate Income Debate in Canada:  Challenges and Opportunities
185
 February 2008 Farris, Buford
 Compassionate Liberalism as a Frame for a Renewed War on Poverty
184
 February 2008 Clark, Stephen The Little Red Hen Thinks Again
183
 February 2008 Roy, Christian Civilian Service for Social Security? Basic Income and Labor Sharing in the Thought of Arnaud Dandieu
182
 February 2008 Suplicy, Senator Eduardo A Basic Income to Democratize and Pacify Iraq
181
 February 2008 Harvey, Phil
 Laying out the Argument for a Public Works Program
180
 February 2008 Howard, Michael
 Cosmopolitanism and Self-Determination
179
 February 2008
 Sheahen, Al
 The Rise and Fall of a Basic Income Guarantee Bill in the U.S. Congress
178
 January 2008
 Jubb, Rob
 Basic Income, Effective Control Self-Ownership, and Market Power
177
 September 2007
 Widerquist, Karl
 Lockean Property Theory
176
 May 2007
 Widerquist, Karl
 The Physical Basis of Voluntary Trade
175 May 2007
 Widerquist, Karl
 A Dilemma for Libertarians
174
 March 2007
 Zelleke, Almaz Is ‘The Plan’ a Basic Income? An Assessment of Charles Murray’s Proposal to Replace the Welfare State with an (Almost) Universal Grant
173
 March 2007
 Quaraishi, Sabrina How Empowering Is Microcredit: A Look At Grameen Bank
172
 March 2007
 Tideman, Nicolaus The Ethics of Unequal Basic Income Guarantees
171
 February 2007
 Schenk, Nadine
 Political Decision Making and Agenda Setting in South Africa: Why the Basic Income Grant has not (yet) been accepted by government in South Africa
170
 February 2007 Healy, Sean and Brigid Reynolds
 Making Tax Credits Refundable: A Pathway to Basic Income in Ireland?
169
 February 2007 Sheahen, Al The Rise and Fall of a Basic Income Guarantee Bill in the United States Congress
168
 February 2007 Wetzell, David L A New Kind of Index Fund Designed to Grow the Social Security Trust Fund
167
 February 2007 Bambrick, Laura A BIG Response to Wollstonecraft’s Dilemma
166
 February 2007 Lewis, Michael A. What To Do About Care Work: Compensate Or Facilitate?
165
 February 2007 Smith, Jeffery J.
 Can a Citizens Dividend Replace Welfare?
164
 February 2007 Todd, Christine Poverty Reduction and Welfare Provision for Single Parents in Aotearoa / New Zealand and the United States - A Comparative Analysis
163
 February 2007  Farris, Buford
 Happy Workers. Welfare Queens and Surfers: Images in the Debate Around a Guaranteed Income
162
 February 2007
 Caputo, Richard K.
 The Death Knoll of BIG or BIG by Stealth: A Preliminary Assessment of UBIG Political Viability around the Globe
161
 January 2007
 Clark, Stephen C. The Juarez Plan
160
 January 2007
 Cook, Richard C. The Basic Income Guarantee and Monetary Reform: A Tale of Two Ideas
159
 December 2006
 Richa
 Looking at BIG from below
158
 November 2006
 Suplicy, Eduardo Matarazzo
The possible Transition from the Bolsa-Família Program
towards a Citizen's Basic Income
157
 November 2006
 De Wispelaere, Jurgen and Lindsay Stirton
 The Public Administration Case Against
Participation Income
156 March 2006 Widerquist, Karl Property Rights by General Agreement
155 March 2006 Widerquist, Karl The Basis of Voluntary Trade
154 March 2006 McGuire, George Big and the Flat Tax - A Populist Essay
153 February 2006 Ji-Young, Yoo The Impact of TANF on Income, Poverty Rate and Poverty Gap among Women and their Families – based on Official / Alternative Poverty Definitions
152 February 2006 Suplicy, Eduardo Matarazzo Citizen’s Basic Income: The Answer is Blowing in Wind
151 February 2006 Seekings, Jeremy Employment guarantee or minimum income? Workfare and welfare in developing countries
150 February 2006 Füllsack, Manfred BI – a “historical necessity”? Sketch for a “functional” approach to the BI-debate
149 February 2006 Morrison, Roy A Basic Income Grant and a Sustainable Future
148 February 2006 Butler, Sam The Poverty of Politics
147 February 2006 Gonzalez Bailon, Sandra and David Casassas Corporate Watch, Consumer Responsibility, and Economic Democracy: Forms of political action in the orbit of basic income
146 February 2006 Widerquist, Karl On Duty
145 February 2006 Smith, Jeffrey Fund BI Not from Income but from Outgo
144 February 2006 Sheahen, Allen It’s Time to Think BIG! How to Simplify the Tax Code and Provide Every American with a Basic Income Guarantee
143 February 2006 Janicke, Marie A. and Ellen A. Hadley National Sales Tax:  Making a Basic Income Guarantee Palatable to the Powerful
142 February 2006 Clark, Stephen C. A Declaration of Independences
141 January 2006 Tomlinson, John Faint Praise for a Chimera: Selectivity versus Universalism in Social Policy
140 January 2006 Mays, Jennifer Employment and Disability: Some Emerging Questions
139 December 2005 Bloom, Abe and Steve Bloom A proposal to establish a social fund in the USA to eliminate poverty through a tax surcharge on households earning incomes of more than $100,000 per year
138 October 2005 Clark, Robert F. Assaulting Global Poverty: Shortfalls and Proposed Remedy
137 September 2005 Elgarte, Julieta Magdalena Non-Domination, Real Freedom, and Basic Income
136 September 2005 Bugra, Ayse and Caglar Keyder Arguing for Basic Income in Turkey: Main Challenges
135 September 2005 Bergh, Andreas Basic Income – With or Without Bismarckian Social Insurance?
134 September 2005 Noguera, Jose Antonio Citizens or Workers? Basic Income vs. Welfare-to-Work Policies
133 August 2005 Nattrass, Nicoli The Challenge for Basic Income Posed by AIDS: Why an Incremental Approach Is Inadequate in South Africa
132 August 2005 Howard, Michael W. Basic Income and Migration Policy: A Moral Dilemma?
131 August 2005 Suplicy, Eduardo Matarazzo The Approval and Sanctioning of the Basic Income Bill in Brazil: How it will be Implemented
130 August 2005 Healy, Sean and Brigid Reynolds Introducing a Basic Income System Sector by Sector in Ireland
129 July 2005 Handler, Joel F. The False Promise of Workfare: Another Reason for a Basic Income Guarantee
128 July 2005 da Silva e Silva, Maria Ozanira From a Minimum Income to a Citizenship Income: The Brazilian Experiences
127 May 2005 Jahn, Jens-Eberhard Problems of a Programmatic UBI Debate Within the German Party of Democratic Socialism
126 May 2005 Cruz, Maria Núbia Alves Maíra C. P. Colares, Michelle dos Santos Diniz, Murillo Marschner A. de Brito, Ada Ávila Assunção When Financial Benefits Guarantee School Attendance Without Children and Adolescents Stopping Work: the bolsa escola case of the Municipal Government of Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
125 May 2005 Yamamori, Toru Basic Income and Capability Approach: On Recognition and Deconstruction for Difference
124 May 2005 Birnbaum, Simon Real Libertarianism, Structural Injustice and the Democratic Ideal
123 May 2005 Calderon Cuevas, Eduardo and Oscar Valiente Gonzalez Basic Income as a Policy to Fight Child Labour
122 May 2005 Danahey, Patrick Education And The Democratic Sovereignty Of The People: A Human Rights Approach Towards Introducing And Entrenching The Full Integration And Implementation Of A Universal Income Beyond The Duration Of Elected Governments
121 April 2005 Seekings, Jeremy Prospects for Basic Income in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare Regimes in the South
120 April 2005 Stevens, Jillynn Social Welfare Policy: Controlling Gender, Race and Class
119 April 2005 Kunnemann, Rolf Basic Food Income—Option or Obligation
118 April 2005 Kittay, Eva Dependency-Independent Justice: Is BIG the answer
117 April 2005 Clark, Robert F. The Earth as a Common Trust: Implications for a Minimum Income Guarantee
116 April 2005 Opielka, Michael Complex Justice and Basic Income
115 March 2005 George, Robley Socioeconomic Democracy: A Democratic Basic Income Guarantee
114 March 2005 Busilacchi, Gianluca Two Problems, One Solution: The Earth Basic Income
113 March 2005 Zelleke, Almaz A Feminist Critique of Reciprocity and Conditionality
112 March 2005 Tcherneva, Pavlina and L. Randall Wray Common Goals—Different Solutions: Can Basic Income and Job Guarantees Deliver Their Own Promises
111 March 2005 Wright, Erik Olin Basic Income as a Socialist Project
110 March 2005 Howard, Michael W. Basic income and job guarantees: alternatives or complements?
109 March 2005 Widerquist, Karl Justice as Voluntary Agreements
108 February 2005 Swanson, David Basic Income Guarantee Versus the Corporate Media
107 February 2005 Bouquin, Stephen The local exchange system
106 February 2005 Marx, Axel and Hans Peeters An Unconditional Basic Income and Labor Supply: Results From a Survey of Lottery Winners
105 February 2005 Dietsch, Peter Institutions as Motivational Bootstrapping
104 February 2005 Noguchi, Eri and Michael Lewis So Long As There Are Bad Jobs, There Will Be Poor Workers: An Argument for an Anti-Poverty Policy NOT Dependent on the Labor Market
103 February 2005 Marangos, John Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Thomas Spence (1750-1814) on Basic Income Guarantee
102 February 2005 Farris, Buford The Compassionate Face of Religion: A Grounding for a Guaranteed Income
101 February 2005 Wirengard, Robert Capitalist Living Dividend, Not a Living Wage
100 February 2005 Daly, Lew Whatever Happened to Unearned Income?
99 January 2005 Colombo, Gianluca, Andrea Fumagalli, Stefano Lucarelli, Jacopo Mazza, Edoardo Mollona, and Cosma Orsi Testing the Value of Solidarity and the Implementation of Social Cohesion Policies
98 January 2005 Pizzigati, Sam Can a Society with a Very Rich Be Decent to the Very Poor? The case of a “maximum wage”
97 December 2004 Tomlinson, John, Penny Harrington, and Simon Schooneveldt Why Australian Workers and Unions Should Support Basic Income
96 October 2004 Howard, Michael Basic Income and Migration Policy: A Moral Dilemma?
95 September 2004 Frankman, Myron J. Ample Room at the Top: Financing a Planet-Wide Basic Income
94 August 2004 Lewis, Michael A. and Eri Noguchi Class-Based Inequities in Civic Participation: Some Possible Reasons, One Possible Solution
93 August 2004 Sheahen, Al and Karl Widerquist A Proposal to Transform the Standard Deduction into a Refundable Tax Credit
92 August 2004 Nattras, Nicoli AIDS and the Disability Grant in South Africa: Further Reasons for Introducing a Basic Income Grant
91 August 2004 Noguchi, Eri and Michael Lewis In Defense of Lazy: An Argument for Less Work, More Community
90 August 2004 Füllsack, Manfred BI as a “Medium”? An “un-ethical” approach to the BI-debate
89 July 2004 Smith, Jeffery J. The Citizen’s Dividend: Sharing the Wealth of the Commons
88 July 2004 Widerquist, Karl Freedom as the Power to say no
87 July 2004 Howard, Michael Basic Income and Migration Policy: A Moral Dilemma?
86 June 2004 Levine et al A Retrospective on the Negative Income Tax Experiments
85 May 2004 Widerquist, Karl Does She Exploit or Doesn’t She?
84 April 2004 Tideman, Nicolaus The Ethics of Basic Income Grants
83 April 2004 Dyan, Paula How It Feels to Be Homeless
82 March 2004 Hartzok, Alanna Citizen Dividends and Oil Resource Rents
81 March 2004 Hughes, James Embrace the End of Work
80 February 2004 Clark, Charles M. A. Ending Poverty in America: The First Step
79 February 2004 Tcherneva, Pavlina R. Job or Income Guarantee?
78 February 2004 Widerquist, Karl Freedom as the Power to Say No
77 February 2004 Wetzell, David, L. On the Welfare Effects of a Wage Floor in a Two-Sector Labor Market with Impoverished Workers
76 February 2004 Lewis, Michael A. and Farberman, Harvey A. The Cost of Caring: The Impact of Caring for the Elderly on Women’s Earnings
75 February 2004 Keely, Louise, C. and Tan, Chih Ming What Role Does Identity Play in the Preference for Income Redistribution?
74 February 2004 Wetzell, David On Some Unappreciated Implications of Becker’s time Allocation Model of Labor Supply
73 February 2004 Noguchi, Eri and Lewis, Michael A. Unconditional Basic Income: A Basic Condition of a Better Society?
72 February 2004 Murphy, Jason That We May Know What We Want: Towards an Argument for a Basic Income Guarantee Based On Deliberation
71 January 2004 Bezruchka, Stephen BIG Medicine for Achieving Population Health in the U.S.
70 January 2004 McGuire, George Green Capitalism
69 January 2004 Theodore, Carla Utopia or Oblivion
68 January 2004 Sheahen, Al Does Everyone Have a Right to a Basic Income Guarantee
67 January 2004 Farina, Pete The Case Against Income Inequality: Unequal Income Is Unequal Citizenship
66 January 2004 Leland Neuberg Emergence and Defeat of Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan
65 December 2003 Widerquist, Karl Economic Possibilities of our Grandparents
64 April 2003 Widerquist, Karl Citizens Capital Accounts: A Proposal
63 April 2003 Suplicy, Eduardo Matarazzzo President Lula's Zero Hunger Program and the Trend Toward a Citizens' Basic Income in Brazil
62 February 2003 Dahms, Harry F. Breaking the Glass Cage: How Basic Income is a Quantitatively Different Social Policy Paradigm
61 February 2003 Harman, Eva Social Grants and their Social Circulations
60 February 2003 Bryan, James B.  Targeted Programs v. The Basic Income Guarantee: An Examination of the Efficiency Costs of Funding Different Forms of Redistribution
59 February 2003 Zelleke, Almaz Distributive Justice and the Argument for Basic Income
58 February 2003 Opielka, Michael Carework Salaries: The German Case and Beyond
57 February 2003 Harvey, Philip The Right to Work and Basic Income Guarantees: A Comparative Assessment
56 February 2003 Wax, Amy The Political Psychology of Social Security: – Obstacles to Reform
55 February 2003 Neuberg, Leland G. What Defeated a Negative Income Tax?: Constructing a Causal Explanation of a Politically Controversial Historical Event
54 January 2003 Henriques, Manuel The Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes in the European Union, the Crisis in the European Social Policy Model and the Lessons from the USA
53 January 2003 Sheahen, Allan Does Everyone Have the Right to a Basic Income Guarantee?
52 January 2003 Murphy, Jason and John Buerck Thinking Machines, Automated Administration, Employment and Citizen’s Participation
51 January 2003 Handler, Joel Myth and Ceremony in Workfare: Rights, Contracts, and Client Satisfaction
50 January 2003 Laurent, Thierry and Yannick L’Horty Basic Income/Minimum Wage Schedule and the Occurrence of Inactivity Traps : Some Evidence on the French Labor Market
49 January 2003 Clark, Stephen The Basic Income as a Foundation of a Sound Currency and a Free and Open Market
48 January 2003 Funicello, Theresa Getting on a path to just distribution: The Caregiver Credit Campaign
47 January 2003 Fumagalli, Andrea  Bioeconomics, labor flexibility and cognitive work: the unequal exchange
46 January 2003 Neuberg, Leland G. Beyond Basic Incomes and Stakes: Toward a More Egalitarian Society
45 January 2003 Smith, Jeffery Not the Left, but a Critical Mass Will win, not BI, but Rent Dividends
44 January 2003 Farris, Buford A Real War on Poverty: Guaranteed Income Plus
43 November 2002 Thurlow, James Can South Africa Afford to Become Africa's First Welfare State?
42 November 2002 Shafarman, Steven Mobilizing Support for Basic Income
41 November 2002 Rey Pérez, José Luis Can we argue for a human right to Basic Income?
40 November 2002 Hernández Losada, Diego Fernando  Universal basic income as a preferential social dividend
39 November 2002 Cruz Basso, Leonardo Fernando  Meritorious currency: a currency against famine
38 September 2002 Widerquist, Karl A Failure to Communicate: The Labor Market Findings of the Negative Income Tax Experiments and Their Effects on Policy and Public Opinion
37 July 2002 Handler, Joel Social Citizenship and Workfare in the U.S. and Western Europe: From Status to Contract
36 May 2002 Widerquist, Karl The Stakeholder Account System
35 May 2002 Shafarman, Steven Welfare and the True Meaning of “Conservative”
34 April 2002 Suplicy, Eduardo From a Minimum Income to a Basic Income in Brazil
33 March 2002 Frankman, Myron Funding a Planet-Wide Citizen's Income: Trial Calculations
32 March 2002 Clark, Stephen C. Funding a Basic Income Guarantee Considering Size, Political Viability, and Pipeline
31 March 2002 Caputo, Richard K. FAP Flops: Lessons Learned from the Failure to Pass the Family Assistance Plan in 1970 and 1972?
30 March 2002 Widerquist, Karl  Phelp’s Economic Discipline as Undisciplined Economics
29 March 2002 Clark, Charles M. A.  Basic Income: Promoting Social Justice in a 21st Century Economy
28 March 2002 Shafarman, Steven  Beyond Left vs. Right: A New Political Discourse
27 March 2002 Widerquist, Karl  Who Exploits Who?
26 March 2002 Van Trier, Walter  Who Framed ‘Social Dividend’?
25 March 2002 Waltman, Jerold  The Basic Income Guarantee and the Living Wage: A Comparative Anatomy
24 February 2002 Shafarman, Steven  Ending Hunger, Homelessness, and Debilitating Poverty: Comparing BIG and other approaches
23 February 2002 Nattrass, Nicoli and Jeremy Seekings  The Political-Economy of a Basic Income Grant in South Africa
22 February 2002 Zelleke, Almaz  Basic Income in the United States: Redefining Citizenship in the Liberal State
21 February 2002 Pressman, Steven Guaranteed Incomes and the Equity-Efficiency Tradeoff
20 February 2002 Bouquin, Stephen & Catherine Levy Social minima a part of recommodification of labour? Critical assessment concerning the tendencies towards basic income
19 February 2002 Laurent, Thierry and Yannick L’Horty Static vs. Dynamic Inactivity Trap on the Labor Market: Revisiting the “Making Work Pay” Issue.
18 February 2002 Bryan, James B. Did the U.S. Welfare Reforms of 1996 and the Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit Eliminate the Need for a Basic Income Guarantee?
17 February 2002 Morrison, Roy  A Framework for Justice and Fairness
16 February 2002 Wolff, Ed  Recent Trends in Living Standards in the United States
15 February 2002 Lewis, Michael  Perhaps There Can be Too Much Freedom
14 February 2002 Garfinkel, Irwin, Chien-Chung Huang, Wendy Naidich, Effects Of Tax Rebates on Poverty and Income Distribution
13 February 2002 Sheahan, Al Why not Guarantee Everyone a Job? Why the Negative Income Tax Experiments of the 1970s were Successful
12 February 2002 Sheahen, Al Does Everyone Have a Right to a Basic Income Guarantee?
11 February 2002 Farris, Buford  Was it only a Dream: Guaranteed Income through the eyes of a Sixties Poverty Warrior in Texas
10 February 2002 Bergmann. Barbara R.  A Swedish-Style Welfare State Or Basic Income: Which Should Have Priority?
9 February 2002 Howard, Michael W.  Liberal and Marxist Justifications for Basic Income
8 February 2002 Smith, Jeffery J  From Red to Green: From Income to Rents as the Funding Source for a Social Salary
7 January 2002 Cunliffe, John and Guido Erreygers Inheritance and Equal Shares: Early American Views
6 November 2001 Wax, Amy  Something for Nothing: The Liberal Case Against Welfare Work Requirements
5 May 2001 Lewis, Michael  A Critique of Phelps' Welfare Economic Justification of Wage Subsidies
4 March 2001 Clark, Charles M.A.  Changing Labour Markets: Towards Real Flexibility
3 December 2000 Block, Fred  Basic Income and the Shadow of Speedhamland
2 September 2000 Widerquist, Karl  Citizenship or Obligation
1 May 2000 Harris, Robert  The Guaranteed Income Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.