Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Book
Description
Press coverage on Universal Basic Income pilot programs, which give everyone in a region an unconditional stipend, follows a predictable pattern: a flurry of attention when the project is announced and a second burst with the results. But once the researchers leave, there is little interest in the aftereffects of the experiments. This neglect is particularly stark with pilots in developing countries. Past studies in such regions have shown that even a small stipend can transform people's lives, move them out of poverty: but how long does this last? This project investigates what happened to the village of Otjivero, Namibia, after their Basic Income Grant from 2008-2010 ended with a few questions. Why wasn’t the BIG implemented nationally post-pilot, as its chief architect promised? Was the government’s investment of facilities in Otjivero truly beneficial to residents? And why were resident’s economic gains so difficult to sustain past the trial period?
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Recommended Citation
de Jong-Lambert, Halina, "“With the BIG we never had to suffer, but now we are suffering.” Examining the Aftermath of Namibia's Basic Income Grant" (2024). Research Days Posters 2024. 44.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2024/44