2017-01-02forbes.com

Finland has started a radical experiment: It's giving 2,000 citizens a guaranteed income, with funds that keep flowing whether participants work or not. The program, which kicks off this month, is one of the first efforts to test a "universal basic income... The Finnish government is planning to study whether the policy helps recipients find work. It suspects many unemployed people are put off getting a job because they will lose unemployment benefits and therefore be worse off financially - a similar problem to that which tax credits were designed to solve in the UK.

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You will indeed face a rising tax rate as more is earned. But not the benefit withdrawal rate at the same time meaning that the effective marginal tax rate is lower. Thus I expect more of those on this benefit to work more hours than those on the traditional benefit system. That is, I expect us to be able to prove that high marginal taxation rates are a disincentive to work for the poor just as much as they are for the rich. This is something I believe to be true right now but it would be nice to be able to wave the evidence around.



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