Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income?

Season 5, Episode 27

On this week’s Freakonomics Radio: a lot of full-time jobs in the modern economy simply don’t pay a living wage. And even those jobs may be obliterated by new technologies. What’s to be done so that financially vulnerable people aren’t just crushed? It may finally be time for an idea that economists have promoted for decades: a guaranteed basic income.

Also, what is the long-term impact of suddenly acquiring a valuable asset? An 1832 land lottery in Georgia randomly rewarded roughly 20 percent of its participants with a large tract of land. Two researchers used U.S. Census data to track how this new wealth changed the lives of these families.

To learn more, check out the podcasts from which this hour was drawn: “Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income?” and “Would a Big Bucket of Cash Really Change Your Life?”

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