Abstract
In representative democracies public opinions matter. In this chapter we analyse the preferences for an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) among a large, representative sample of people in the 28 member states of the European Union (EU). The survey data were collected by online sampling on mobile devices in March 2017. We apply a multi-level ordered logit model and a fixed effects model. On average, almost three-quarters of the people in the EU stated to (probably) vote for the introduction of UBI, if there would be a referendum on introducing UBI. Half of the voters would like to see UBI being introduced after successful experiments in their own country or abroad; one third as soon as possible. The likelihood to vote in favour of UBI varies significantly between groups of people. The effect of awareness on preferences is inconclusive. The national macro-economic and welfare state contexts have significant effects. “It reduces anxiety about financial basic needs” is considered the most convincing argument for UBI. “It might encourage people to stop working” is considered the most convincing argument against UBI. The self-enhancement hypothesis is confirmed. The positive and negative effects of UBI on individual work choices balance out.
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Notes
- 1.
Based on a metaphor used by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman five decades ago: “Let us suppose now that one day a helicopter flies over this community and drops an additional $1000 in bills from the sky, which is, of course, hastily collected by members of the community .” (Friedman, 1969: 4).
- 2.
PPS is a common currency used by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU , to eliminate the differences in price levels between the EU countries allowing meaningful volume comparisons of national social security expenditure.
- 3.
The Dalia Research survey total percentage is based on a combination of research and population weights. The percentages of the ESS are similarly calculated using a combination of design and population weights. See European Social Survey (2014, April 25). https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/methodology/ESS _weighting_data_1.pdf
- 4.
The internet-based ING International Survey (ING, 2016) only used country population size weights to calculate averages.
- 5.
Results not shown in the tables, but are available from the authors upon request.
- 6.
The work choices results do not have a natural reference category. Using effects coding allows the mean of the possibilities to be the reference category.
- 7.
Individualism vs. collectivism, power distance and indulgence vs. restraint significantly influence voting behaviour if added as individual national explanations. However, their significance disappears if combined with social protection and unemployment. Masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation had no effect. Regression results available from the authors upon request.
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Delsen, L., Schilpzand, R. (2019). Individual Preferences for the Unconditional Basic Income in the European Union. In: Delsen, L. (eds) Empirical Research on an Unconditional Basic Income in Europe. Contributions to Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30044-9_2
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