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The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income pp 111–132Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Ecological Effects of Basic Income

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Part of the book series: Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee ((BIG))

Abstract

Howard, Pinto and Schachtschneider consider ecological arguments for a Basic Income. Environmental limits mean that economic growth might no longer be possible, and some argue that a Basic Income could afford economic security without continued economic growth. A Basic Income could facilitate work sharing, less energy-intensive work, reduced demand for wasteful positional goods, and experiments in living in the autonomous sector. Green growth strategies, including a carbon fee and dividend, are compared with degrowth strategies that call for an absolute decrease in consumption while including a Basic Income to avoid adverse impact on workers and the poor. The resulting redistribution, however, could increase carbon emissions. This means that Basic Income might require complementary policies, such as work time reduction, in order to reach ecological goals.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Expressed to one of the authors by Jurgen De Wispelaere, in conversation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Michael W. Howard

  2. University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Jorge Pinto

  3. Unconditional Basic Income Europe, Oldenburg, Germany

    Ulrich Schachtschneider

Authors
  1. Michael W. Howard
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  2. Jorge Pinto
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  3. Ulrich Schachtschneider
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Correspondence to Michael W. Howard .

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  1. London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

    Malcolm Torry

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Howard, M.W., Pinto, J., Schachtschneider, U. (2019). Ecological Effects of Basic Income. In: Torry, M. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23614-4_7

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