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Basic Income and Social Sustainability in Post-Growth Economies

Author

Listed:
  • Malmaeus Mikael

    (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Alfredsson Eva

    (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Birnbaum Simon

    (Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden)

Abstract

A central task in efforts to identify pathways to ecologically and socially sustainable economies is to reduce inequality and poverty while reducing material consumption, which has recently inspired future post-growth scenarios. We build a model to explore the potential of a universal basic income (UBI) to serve these objectives. Starting from the observation that post-growth trajectories can take very different forms we analyze UBI in two scenarios advanced in the literature. Comparing UBI in a “local self-sufficiency” economy to a UBI in an “automation” economy, we show that although both scenarios satisfy central sustainability criteria, the impact of a UBI would differ greatly between these contexts. Our analysis shows that a UBI is less compatible with a labor-intensive local self-sufficiency economy than a capital-intensive, high tech economy. We conclude that the feasibility and attractiveness of a UBI in a post-growth scenario depends greatly on the specific characteristics of the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Malmaeus Mikael & Alfredsson Eva & Birnbaum Simon, 2020. "Basic Income and Social Sustainability in Post-Growth Economies," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 15(1), pages 1-27, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bistud:v:15:y:2020:i:1:p:27:n:4
    DOI: 10.1515/bis-2019-0029
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. van der Veen Robert, 2019. "Basic Income Experiments in the Netherlands?," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Jan Mikael Malmaeus, 2016. "Economic Values and Resource Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Max-Neef, Manfred, 1995. "Economic growth and quality of life: a threshold hypothesis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 115-118, November.
    6. Widerquist Karl, 2017. "The Cost of Basic Income: Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, December.
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