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There's been a lot of research into this, particularly around the concept of savings as the big obstacle towards independence and freedom. The poorest people wh
by dluan 10y ago
There's been a lot of research into this, particularly around the concept of savings as the big obstacle towards independence and freedom. The poorest people who struggle to achieve even a basic income (think participants in microcredit) face a difficult task of building enough savings to live past one catastrophic flood, one bad recession, one big purchase/investment (a new car that doesn't always break down vs. crappy money pit of repairs and bills).
IMO, research into developing savings capacity is arguably more important, and a much broader problem. But the wisdom of saving pennies is not a sexy idea. The people doing the most progressive work in this are orgs like Grameen.
- elizabeth-ycr 10y agoParticipants' financial health, including savings and ability to weather economic shocks, is one of the key outcomes we'll be examining.
- dluan 10y agoGood luck! I'll be following closely. I've always envied how in economics it's the practitioners who can push the boundaries the furthest. Of course, if you ever have any results you'd like to post on Experiment feel free to reach out.
- PeterisP 10y agoHow about mental health? It seems that a large portion of the very poor / homeless is caused not directly by poverty, but indirectly by poor decisions caused by mental health issues. Obviously BI is not a fix for the health care system, but how do you propose that BI should address people that don't really have "legal capacity" to make decisions on their own ? Do you support paying BI to some dedicated caregiver instead in such cases, or is it beyond the scope of this initial experiment?
- zanny 10y agoPoverty can also cause mental illness. There are plenty of studies on how children raised poor and hungry have developmental issues both physically and mentally, and how even adults who transition into poverty can become trapped in it and have their thought patterns altered through it.