When individuals in eight out of 20 villages in Madhya Pradesh, India, were provided with monthly payments as part of a randomized control trial on universal basic income, the results defied what some top economists had expected. More than 6,000 people received the unconditional cash transfers, which at 300 rupees per adult and 150 rupees per child were calculated as being at or just above the poverty line. Rather than losing their incentive to work, recipients worked and produced more; and rather than wasting the money, many of them invested it — in better seeds, equipment repairs, and even new businesses. The idea of a universal basic income is nothing new. Thomas More floated it in his 16th century “Utopia.” A modern day update, “Utopia for Realists,” argues that... Read More