Case study B: Universal basic income grant in theory and practice

Abstract

The idea of a universal basic income grant (UBIG) is not new and there are ongoing debates internationally as well as nationally in low and middle income countries just like in high income countries of a BIG as a social protection policy option. In the context of social assistance provision, a UBIG is often comapred and contrasted against targeted cash transfers (CTs). This paper systematically presents the arguments for targeted CTs and UBIG. The impact evaluations confirm positive links when accessing both CTs and UBIG, especially in poverty reduction, which suggest that predictability and reliability of the transfer is what matters the most. From an academic and policymaker perspective, the UBIG experiments do not shed light on what constitutes a UBIG (including characteristics/dimensions) because of the variations in the ideological underpinnings, program design and interest, and delivery channels in high, middle and low income countries.