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Working Through the Work Disincentive

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  • Pasma Chandra

    (Citizens for Public Justice)

Abstract

The work disincentive appears to be one of the biggest obstacles to basic income. There are concerns about paying people for doing nothing and fears of people withdrawing from the labour market because they have income security. It is important therefore for basic income advocates to understand the arguments and assumptions underlying the work disincentive concerns in order to successfully counter them. This article considers the primary assumptions, including those about what motivates people to work, what activities count as good, job availability, the distinction between the disabled and those able to work, and whether it is wrong to pay people for doing nothing; this article also provides a critical assessment.

Suggested Citation

  • Pasma Chandra, 2010. "Working Through the Work Disincentive," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bistud:v:5:y:2010:i:2:n:4
    DOI: 10.2202/1932-0183.1169
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. White Stuart, 2006. "Reconsidering the Exploitation Objection to Basic Income," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 1(2), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Paulsen Roland, 2008. "Economically Forced to Work: A Critical Reconsideration of the Lottery Question," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Widerquist, Karl, 2005. "A failure to communicate: what (if anything) can we learn from the negative income tax experiments?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 49-81, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Palermo Kuss Ana Helena & Neumärker K. J. Bernhard, 2018. "Modelling the Time Allocation Effects of Basic Income," Basic Income Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Chris Riddell & W. Craig Riddell, 2024. "Welfare versus Work under a Negative Income Tax: Evidence from the Gary, Seattle, Denver, and Manitoba Income Maintenance Experiments," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 427-467.
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