Money for nothing: Has the time come for universal basic income?

Can basic income become a worldwide policy?

“Money for nothing” is not just a 1985 song by Dire Straits but also, it seems, a new wave of policies supporting the government providing an income for citizens, regardless of their economic activity.

Benoît Hamon, the surprise winner of the first round of the socialist primaries in France, is the latest high-profile supporter of the idea. But across the world, experiments in universal basic income are already exploring the option of paying individuals a flat rate of income, unaffected by their participation in the labour market. It sounds counter-intuitive.

The first expectation