Kenya will test the viability of the idea of ​​basic unconditional income

    The experiment will be attended by 6,000 Kenyans



    About unconditional income and its impact on human life has been repeatedly written on Geektimes. But it so happened that the idea of ​​introducing unconditional income has so far been tested in developed countries like Finland or the United States. But what if you take and test the same idea in a relatively poor country - for example, Kenya?

    It is such a project that the non-profit organization GiveDirectly plans to implement , with headquarters in New York. The project team will allocate 6,000 Kenyans (randomly determined) a certain income every month for 10 years. It's not about big sums, no. The people you choose will be allocated between $ 255 and $ 400 (per person per year).

    The amount is calculated taking into account the average annual income of the Kenyan, as well as taking into account the cost of food, rent, health care. The project will allocate the same amount to a group of people, regardless of their status (working or unemployed) or wealth.



    GiveDirectly began work in 2009. According to company representatives, employees immediately faced with misunderstanding and skepticism. “People believed that recipients will spend on a constant and independent income on alcohol, no one will work,” said Michael Fay, co-founder of the organization. But there were those who appreciated the idea, and the company began to receive financial support, which, in turn, it provided to the participants of their projects.



    Similar projects, as mentioned above, are also being implemented in developed countries. For example, the Federal Government of Switzerland plans to submit to the referendum the issue of unconditional income for citizens of the country. The referendum will be held in June, and the question itself concerns all citizens without exception. It seems that the problem of unconditional income (DB) is becoming a new trend of our time. This type of income is planned to be introduced, for example, in Finland, here the amount of payments will be 800 euros. Not too much, but this amount covers all the expenses of citizens for life, so if you do not want to work, then you can not do this.

    It is planned to conduct an experiment in the Netherlands , in one of the cities, as well as in Finland. Start to getmonthly payments and residents of the Canadian province of Ontario, and pretty soon.

    The idea of ​​unconditional income may seem somewhat strange and unviable. It would seem that if a person is paid money, thanks to which he will not need, then no one will work. But this is not so - in the USA in 1970 they conducted an experiment when people were paid annual income equal to the average income in the country. And people continued to work. True, they already looked for work to their liking, not looking at the size of their wages.

    It would be interesting to know about the results of the project to introduce unconditional income in Kenya - so we are waiting for the start of this idea.

    Only registered users can participate in the survey. Please come in.

    Will you work if you start to receive a database in the amount of the average income of citizens in your country?

    • 83.5% Yes, of course 1222
    • 3.4% No, why? 51
    • 12.9% Hard to say for sure 189

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