Basic Income A Transformative Policy for India

by Davala, Sarath; Jhabvala, Renana; Standing, Guy; Mehta, Soumya Kapoor

• ISBN13: 9781472583116
• ISBN10: 1472583116
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-03-26
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Would it be possible to provide people with a basic income as a right? The idea has a long history. This book draws on two pilot schemes conducted in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, in which thousands of men, women and children were provided with an unconditional monthly cash payment. In a context in which the Indian government at national and state levels spends a vast amount on subsidies and selective schemes that are chronically expensive, inefficient, inequitable and subject to extensive corruption, there is scope for switching at least some of the spending to a modest basic income. This book explores what would be likely to happen if this were done.

The book draws on a series of evaluation surveys conducted over the course of the eighteen months in which the main pilot was in operation, supplemented with detailed case studies of individuals and families. It looks at the impact on health and nutrition, on schooling, on economic activity, women's agency and the welfare of those with disabilities.

Above all, the book considers whether or not a basic income could be transformative, in not only improving individual and family welfare but in promoting economic growth and development, as well as having an emancipatory effect for people long mired in conditions of poverty and economic insecurity.

Author Biography

Guy Standing is Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK. He has previously been Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath, UK, Professor of Labour Economics at Monash University, Australia and Director of the Socio-Economic Security Programme of the International Labour Organization. He is co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network. His recent books include Work after Globalization: Building Occupational Citizenship (2009) and Beyond the New Paternalism: Basic Security as Equality (2002).

Ruth Jhabvala is head of SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India. She is the recipient of the President’s Award for distinguished services to the country.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. The Transformative Challenge
2. Basic Income Defined
3. A Little More, How Much It Is
4. Escaping the Debt Trap
5. Creeping Towards Social Citizenship
6. From Subsidised Malnutrition to Healthy Development
7. Agency and Cultural Citizenship
8. Rolling Out Basic Income
Bibliography
Index