Volume 18, Issue 2

We focus on the literature about UBI and the experiments developed all around the world to test it in order to address how UBI implementation could affect entrepreneurship. Building on these findings and various strands of entrepreneurial theory, we develop a theoretical framework to explain how the implementation of UBI would dramatically change the environment of entrepreneurial activity, shaping entrepreneurial action at three levels: (i) the desirability of becoming an entrepreneur; (ii) the perceived feasibility of becoming an entrepreneur; (iii) the propensity to act. Consequently, UBI implementation would arguably facilitate the decision to become an entrepreneur. The contribution of the paper is threefold. It firstly provides a theoretical framework that opens new directions for further research on the relationship between UBI and entrepreneurship. Secondly, it offers new insights for policy makers by shedding light on potential effects of UBI implementation. Finally, it raises further questions that remains unsolved related to the role of non-pecuniary motivations and financial constraints.

The 2017–2018 basic income pilot in the Canadian province of Ontario attempted to alleviate poverty in a precarious economy. With three communities participating, we examine how the pilot was framed by local media, permitting a look at the narratives that were dominant in the participating communities. In essence, were recipients framed as “deserving?” How the media addresses this question can set the foundation for whether policymakers can proceed with basic income. Given that media coverage of poverty alleviation in the United States generally follows an episodic frame, which puts focus on individuals and their particular circumstances (i.e. lifestyle choices), while major Canadian media generally shows a mix of frames, results of a media content analysis at the local level shows basic-income pilot was covered mainly through thematic frames, which emphasizes systemic factors and more general social conditions, which support state action on basic income.

As an object which is new, complex and potentially challenging some of the foundations of the Social Order (SO), we sought to study the influence of the Political Orientation (PO) and Social Representations (SR) of the Social Order (Staerklé et al., 2007). Qui a droit à quoi ? Représentations et légitimation de l’ordre social . PUG) on the socio-representational construction of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) and stances towards this measure (attitude and estimated fair amount). Data were collected via Facebook from 264 French general population participants (Mage = 37.8; SD = 12.7; 174 women). Our Structural Equation Model revealed that the PO would be associated with the stances towards the UBI, mediated by the different ways of representing it and the representations of the SO. Results show two differents socio-representational logics in relation to being right-wing and one in relation to being left-wing. This leads to contrasting stances towards the UBI and seems to reflect different desires to maintain or change the SO.

Research on UBI has blossomed in recent years, with a particular focus on conducting experiments with policies that share features with a UBI, microsimulation analysis and public opinion surveys. However, a common drawback with many of these approaches is the difficulty with examining ‘general equilibrium’ or ‘community’ effects. Macroeconomic modelling is one tool used to explore these more difficult questions of what would happen if a UBI was implemented at the national level. In this paper, a review of existing analysis of the macroeconomic effects of a UBI offers an insight into the assumptions, approaches and results of these studies and how these are interlinked. Recommendations are made to increase the diversity of models used and the mechanisms and contexts explored.