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Snowballing or wilting? What affects public support for varying models of basic income?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

Joe Chrisp Open the ORCID record for Joe Chrisp [Opens in a new window] ,
Ville-Veikko Pulkka  and
Leire Rincón García
Joe Chrisp*
Affiliation:
Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK
Ville-Veikko Pulkka
Affiliation:
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Leire Rincón García
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and Constitutional Law, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
*
Email: joe.chrisp@uib.no
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Abstract

Recently, the idea of a universal basic income has received unprecedented attention from policymakers, the media and the wider public. This has inspired a plethora of surveys that seek to measure the extent of public support for the policy, many of which suggest basic income is surprisingly popular. However, in a review of past surveys, with a focus on the UK and Finland, we find that overall levels of support for basic income can vary considerably. We highlight the importance of survey design and, by employing new survey data in each country, compare the levels and determinants of support for varied models of basic income. Our results point to the importance of the multi-dimensionality of basic income and the fragility of public support for the idea. The findings suggest that the ability of political actors to mobilise the public in favour of basic income will eventually depend on the precise model they wish to implement.

Keywords

Basic incomeparticipation incomepublic attitudessurvey designthe UKFinland
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 36 , Special Issue 3: Special issue: The Social Legitimacy of Basic Income: A Multidimensional and Cross-national Perspective , November 2020 , pp. 223 - 236
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Social Policy Association

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