Abstract
This study uses data from Google Trends and Twitter to analyze how public interest and sentiment towards Universal Basic Income (UBI) changed across all 50 states and Washington D.C. between 2018 and 2021. We specifically selected this time period as it includes both Andrew Yang’s UBI campaign during the Democratic primaries in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when UBI gained attention due to the federal government’s unconditional cash payment to almost all citizens. To overcome the limitations of sporadic opinion polls, we built on a recent development of the rescaling method to generate longitudinal Google Trends and conducted Twitter sentiment analysis. We observed a modest rise in public interest in UBI during Andrew Yang’s campaign, especially in blue states, and a significant increase across all states at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it quickly waned, the level of public attention became elevated compared to the pre-pandemic level. Contrary to previous studies, our analysis also reveals that overall sentiment became less positive after the peak interest during the pandemic, as more people engaged in online discussions.
Acknowledgment
This publication was made possible by the generous support of the Qatar Foundation through Carnegie Mellon University Qatar’s Seed Research program. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.
A. Longitudinal Construction of Public Interest in UBI Across the U.S.: Full Results for Figure 4
State | Peak month | 2018 average | 2019 average | 2020 average | 2021 average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | March 2020 | 9.9 | 14.57 | 33.86 | 22.64 |
Alaska | March 2020 | 15.69 | 18.76 | 16.59 | 36.64 |
Arizona | March 2020 | 26.98 | 25.7 | 12.92 | 14.78 |
Arkansas | March 2020 | 12.96 | 31.08 | 18.65 | 11.14 |
California | March 2020 | 21.01 | 21.01 | 43.24 | 20.92 |
Colorado | March 2020 | 24.63 | 12.41 | 12.89 | 32.51 |
Connecticut | April 2020 | 28.69 | 22.69 | 18.9 | 20.49 |
Delaware | December 2020 | 19.73 | 30.34 | 20.19 | 9.67 |
Washington D.C. | March 2020 | 12.33 | 17.64 | 29.43 | 17.44 |
Florida | March 2020 | 23.99 | 12.17 | 12.02 | 20.98 |
Georgia | March 2020 | 30.86 | 27.07 | 9.8 | 14.18 |
Hawaii | March 2020 | 14.36 | 42.13 | 24.48 | 5.03 |
Idaho | February 2020 | 10.7 | 13.52 | 29.91 | 11.41 |
Illinois | March 2020 | 17.02 | 14.47 | 11.6 | 41.66 |
Indiana | March 2020 | 24.3 | 17.75 | 14.76 | 10.28 |
Iowa | January 2020 | 4.96 | 28.86 | 35.41 | 12.35 |
Kansas | March 2020 | 20.83 | 10.62 | 35.93 | 17.96 |
Kentucky | April 2020 | 31.33 | 10.63 | 21.01 | 24.42 |
Louisiana | March 2020 | 44.5 | 20.73 | 12.61 | 12.31 |
Maine | March 2020 | 24.17 | 30.67 | 24.46 | 11.77 |
Maryland | March 2020 | 18.57 | 10.82 | 33.73 | 16.42 |
Massachusetts | March 2020 | 26.78 | 9.74 | 17.64 | 24.57 |
Michigan | April 2020 | 37.82 | 14.27 | 12.06 | 11.68 |
Minnesota | March 2020 | 16.47 | 27.64 | 14.54 | 14.46 |
Mississippi | August 2018 | 11.34 | 12.8 | 31.47 | 20.68 |
Missouri | February 2020 | 29.62 | 24.76 | 15.36 | 37.66 |
Montana | February 2020 | 34.68 | 28.95 | 17.38 | 17.01 |
Nebraska | February 2020 | 13.19 | 30.62 | 29.82 | 30.55 |
Nevada | March 2020 | 14.55 | 19.33 | 36.91 | 16.29 |
New Hampshire | March 2020 | 22.24 | 13.77 | 17.58 | 45.03 |
New Jersey | March 2020 | 24.33 | 26.4 | 9.69 | 21.92 |
New Mexico | March 2020 | 15.03 | 33.09 | 21.08 | 13.44 |
New York | March 2020 | 37.98 | 18.72 | 29.03 | 25.35 |
North Carolina | March 2020 | 66.52 | 19.23 | 15.2 | 35.72 |
North Dakota | December 2020 | 65.24 | 29.88 | 5.55 | 16.16 |
Ohio | March 2020 | 28.16 | 43.33 | 25.57 | 54.37 |
Oklahoma | April 2020 | 12.85 | 16.57 | 36.79 | 76.33 |
Oregon | March 2020 | 18.34 | 11.59 | 20.61 | 83.38 |
Pennsylvania | March 2020 | 29.08 | 20.98 | 14.68 | 62.44 |
Rhode Island | March 2020 | 13.86 | 28.24 | 20.85 | 11.1 |
South Carolina | February 2020 | 8.87 | 14.92 | 31.57 | 21.62 |
South Dakota | February 2020 | 17.89 | 13.71 | 12.43 | 23.04 |
Tennessee | March 2020 | 25.13 | 30.56 | 13.99 | 11.52 |
Texas | March 2020 | 13.82 | 38.08 | 15.27 | 13.06 |
Utah | April 2020 | 15.38 | 17.07 | 28.77 | 20.41 |
Vermont | January 2020 | 35.38 | 8.63 | 12.53 | 29.26 |
Virginia | March 2020 | 57.79 | 14.67 | 26.12 | 12.08 |
Washington | April 2020 | 13.84 | 12.24 | 34.09 | 22.23 |
West Virginia | March 2020 | 14.57 | 12.24 | 51.62 | 13.11 |
Wisconsin | March 2020 | 22.77 | 19.41 | 22.37 | 22.46 |
Wyoming | February 2020 | 39.89 | 19.52 | 14.46 | 6.46 |
B. Distribution of Twitter Users in the U.S. by Age in Comparison with the Entire Population: Detailed Information for Subsection 3.3. Data Representativeness.
Twitter users in the U.S. (as of 2018) | U.S. population (as of 2021) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Age | Proportion | Age | Proportion |
2–24 | 0.16 | 0–24 | 0.30 |
25–34 | 0.21 | 25–34 | 0.14 |
35–44 | 0.19 | 35–44 | 0.13 |
45–54 | 0.16 | 45–54 | 0.12 |
55–64 | 0.21 | 55–64 | 0.13 |
65+ | 0.07 | 65+ | 0.17 |
Total | 1.00 | Total | 1.00 |
-
Source: Statistica. See https://www.statista.com/statistics/192703/age-distribution-of-users-on-twitter-in-the-united-states/ and https://www.statista.com/statistics/241488/population-of-the-us-by-sex-and-age/ (accessed on February 10, 2024).
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© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- The Introduction of Basic Income is a Pillar of a Socio-cultural Revolution
- Functional Finance and the Sustainability of Universal Basic Income
- Monitoring Public Interest and Sentiment on Basic Income: Using Google and Twitter Data in the U.S.
- Universal Basic Income Universally Welcomed? – Relevance of Socio-Demographic and Psychological Variables for Acceptance in Germany
- Basic Income and Violence Against Women: A Review of Cash Transfer Experiments
- Are the UN Sustainable Development Goals a Valuable Platform for Advancing a Basic Income? A Critical Historical Studies Account
- Book Review
- Karl Widerquist: The Problem of Property. Taking the Freedom of Nonowners Seriously
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- The Introduction of Basic Income is a Pillar of a Socio-cultural Revolution
- Functional Finance and the Sustainability of Universal Basic Income
- Monitoring Public Interest and Sentiment on Basic Income: Using Google and Twitter Data in the U.S.
- Universal Basic Income Universally Welcomed? – Relevance of Socio-Demographic and Psychological Variables for Acceptance in Germany
- Basic Income and Violence Against Women: A Review of Cash Transfer Experiments
- Are the UN Sustainable Development Goals a Valuable Platform for Advancing a Basic Income? A Critical Historical Studies Account
- Book Review
- Karl Widerquist: The Problem of Property. Taking the Freedom of Nonowners Seriously