In recent years, Basic Income has risen up the political agenda with successful trials being run in different countries, but does it have the potential to transform the economy?

Drawing on the expert author team's multidisciplinary research programme, the book uses real world examples to show how basic income irreversibly improves almost all aspects of society. It traces distinct, but related, pathways from the input of money to the output of improved health, wellbeing, education, employment and civic activity.

Using a model of impact to provide an accessible account of transformation in behaviour, relationships and institutions, it shows that reducing poverty through basic income increases access to better food, housing and other goods, frees people from domination and promotes long-term thinking and action. Together these improve individual and collective experiences, charting a pathway to a society rebuilt through a single policy.

This is a defining contribution to public understanding of basic income that highlights the reasons for our age of crisis.

About the Author

Elliott Johnson is Vice-Chancellor's Fellow in Public Policy at Northumbria University. His research currently focuses on basic income, in particular, understanding its health impact, economic feasibility, public acceptability and the development of narratives capable of persuading opponents.

Matthew Johnson is Chair of the Common Sense Policy Group and Professor of Public Policy at Northumbria University. His work focuses on the relationship between financial insecurity, health, public opinion and means of persuading people to vote in their own interests.

Daniel Nettle is Professor of Community Wellbeing at Northumbria University and a researcher in the Evolution and Social Cognition team at Institut Jean Nicod, Paris. His work focuses on the relationship between poverty, inequality and behaviour and in developing public policy to improve outcomes.

Kate E. Pickett is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York and co-author with Richard Wilkinson of The Spirit Level and Inner Level. She is co-founder of the Equality Trust and has pioneered understanding of the impacts of poverty and inequality as social determinants of health.

Howard Reed is Senior Research Fellow in Public Policy at Northumbria University and Director of Landman Economics. He is former Chief Economist at IPPR and a leading international expert in economic microsimulation. He leads the Common Sense Policy Group's costing, affordability and tax-benefit analysis.

Ian Robson is Assistant Professor in Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. He is a methodological innovator who enables new knowledge and practice change in the fields of collaborative enquiry, social design, and inclusion of marginalised groups.

Book Information
ISBN 9781447374008
Author Matthew Johnson
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Policy Press
Publisher Bristol University Press