Money up for grabs as German institute launches basic income pilot
BERLIN – A project billed as Germany’s first-ever long-term study into a universal basic income was launched on Tuesday (18) by economists and activists in Berlin.
People can sign up to take part in the study, which will pay out 1,433 euros (US$ 1,711) per month to 120 people over a period of three years, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) said.
It is conducting the pilot project together with the association Mein Grundeinkommen (My Basic Income) and researchers from the Max Planck Institute and the University of Cologne.
The recipients are set to begin receiving their unconditional handouts, funded by private donations, from spring next year.
“We want to know what it does to behaviour and attitudes and whether a basic income can help to deal with the current challenges in our society,” said Michael Bohmeyer, initiator of the Mein Grundeinkommen initiative.
On presenting the project, Juergen Schupp of the DIW noted that while there have already been studies worldwide on the radical proposal, their results have been limited.
“They are either outdated, not generalizable or study basic income only for the unemployed. In this regard, we are really breaking new scientific ground in Germany with this study,” he said.
One of the main debates surrounding the idea of a universal basic income, paid out unconditionally, is whether it motivates people to engage more in local economies or societies, or whether it encourages laziness.
It would also be extremely expensive to roll out, costing for example almost a trillion euros a year if Germany’s population of just under 83 million were to receive a monthly payment of 1,000 euros.
Currently, the German state’s total annual expenditure is just below 1.5 trillion euros, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
-dpa