This is what one of the world’s largest experiments in basic income looks like

From Meaghan Tobin and Márvio Dos Anjos / Rest of World: Mumbuca is a digital currency used in Maricà’s basic income program. Residents, with few eligibility requirements, can qualify for a monthly stipend to purchase goods and services using a smart phone or a card. The currency runs on the digital platform E-dinheiro and can only be spent in the city limits. Individuals cannot swap Mumbucas for national currency, but businesses can after a 48-hour waiting period and a 1% fee. Local currencies, which are popular in Brazil, help residents increase personal savings and, with increased stipends during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed informal workers to stay home.

Click here to read the full story on Rest of World.

Issue Areas:

Alternative Forms of Income, Wellbeing Economics

Impact Areas:

Creating New Economic Paradigms

Actors:

Government

Communities Served:

—

Strategies:

Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Reallocating Government / Public Financing

Success Factors:

Addressing Underlying Issues, Providing Cash Instead Of Goods/Services, Using Creative Financing

Geographic Region:

South America

Countries:

Brazil

Date:

July 23, 2020

More Resources:

Can Guaranteed Income Prevent Gentrification?

From Oscar Perry Abello / NextCity: In Louisville, community organizers are betting that a guaranteed income program will reduce community violence in disinvested neighborhoods – and protect against displacement of residents. Read the original story here. Find other articles about...

Chicago Youth Help Decide Where Public Funds Go

From Martín Xavi Macías / NextCity: Chicago is asking its citizens, including youth, to help determine how to spend public money. Participatory budgeting involves communities identifying their greatest needs and guiding spending toward solutions. Read the original story here. Read...

Conversation with Ashish Kothari

Ashish Kothari, based in Pune, India has helped found or coordinate a number of organizations, movements, and processes, including Kalpavriksh, Vikalp Sangam, ICCA Consortium, Radical Ecological Democracy, and the Global Tapestry of Alternatives. He is co-editor of Alternative Futures: India...

Universal basic income transfers better than subsidies; Madhya Pradesh model shows improvement in living standards

From Sunil Jain / The Financial Express: SEWA-INBI pilots a basic universal income program for two villages in Madhya Pradesh. These funds enabled residents to pay for facilities and electricity in their homes, buy better cooking fuel, increase the weight...

Conversation with Avriel Diaz

Avriel Diaz co-founded and serves as the president of Walking Palms Global Health, an organization focused on building community resilience amidst climate and environmental disasters. She has dedicated years to forming international transdisciplinary partnerships aimed at enhancing community resilience in...

The Women Leading a Social Revolution in Syria’s Rojava

From Lucy Clarke-Billings / Newsweek: The Committee of Diplomacy of Kongreya Star is a women’s organization in Rojava Syria that aims to liberate women in the region by adding women into all sectors of local life including education, the economy,...