Universal Basic Income and contemporary welfare policy reform

我的博士后将翻译并应用我的博士研究，以影响围绕社会保障政策和福利改革的当代辩论背景下UBI的突出讨论。该研究金将促进一系列产出，包括一本合著的书、一份政策简报，以及与福利政策和运动领域的利益攸关方进行一系列公共和私人接触。奖学金的目的是发展我在福利政策领域的职业生涯，既包括在学术界，也包括在政策制定和倡导以及研究应用领域。全民基本收入是一个古老的想法，在最近的全球政策辩论中产生了巨大的影响——对该政策的各种试验要么已经完成，要么正在进行，要么在不久的将来计划进行。简而言之，该政策建议国家向其管辖范围内的所有居民发放现金补贴，附带最低（或零）条件；无论你是否工作，合法居民都可以获得这笔款项，而不受你的经济状况的影响。该政策的支持者指出，它有可能改善那些面临日益不稳定的劳动力市场的工人的财务安全，有能力帮助减轻自动化的一些影响，并可能对性别不平等产生影响。该政策的反对者指出，它有可能进一步将金融化（可能是新自由主义）的基本原理融入日常生活，以及全民基本收入对公共财政的潜在高成本。指导该项目的另一个政策问题是，将全民基本收入作为福利条件制度的改革，该制度目前通过包括通用信贷（UC）在内的现有福利制度在英国运作。作为其职权范围的一部分，我的博士后将根据我的博士研究结果和新工党改革以来出现的当前福利政策来研究这场辩论——展示一个“我们是如何走到这里的”政策故事，这巩固了我之前对福利政策历史的研究。全民基本收入作为一种政策选择，在福利政策学术研究的肥沃和多产时期重新出现。我的博士学位就在这个时代。在英国紧缩驱动的公共政策的十年中，通过对社会保障服务和福利支付系统（包括UC的发展）重组影响的关键研究，已经出现了大量证据。有一场正在兴起的辩论，不仅突出了UC推出的负面影响，而且还将福利条件本身的想法置于质疑之中。关键问题围绕着将获得社会保障支持的资格建立在“工作意愿”上的道德和实际影响，而不是无条件现金支持的制度（UBI政策提供）。尽管有可能进行跨部门对话，但关于这一主题的学术政策工作——以及该领域的关键研究人员——在很大程度上与UBI活动家、经济学家和政策组织网络的活动无关。随着“基本收入对话”（Basic Income Conversation）等组织开始在全民基本收入和福利政策对话之间建立联系，这种情况正开始改变。该奖学金将把我的博士研究成果应用于这种富有成效的互动，其活动将围绕发展其中的政策影响展开。基于我的博士研究、经验和在政策界的联系，我打算通过在线研讨会和其他形式的会议，让主要利益相关者参与对话，从而围绕福利政策改革问题建立新的合作潜力。除了这些网络活动外，我还将制作三种产出：一本书、一份政策简报和为各种媒体发表的文章。因此，奖学金将使我能够通过各种平台向不同的受众传播我的作品-从学术界到政界和活动家圈子。

My postdoc will translate and apply my PhD research to impact the prominent discussion of UBI in the context of contemporary debates around social security policy and welfare reform. The fellowship will facilitate a number of outputs, including a co-authored book, a policy briefing and a series of public and private engagements with stakeholders in the field of welfare policy and campaigning. The aim of the fellowship will be to develop my career in the field of welfare policy, both inside academia as well as within the field of policy development and advocacy, and research application. UBI is an old idea that has made a huge impact in recent policy debates globally - with various trials of the policy either completed, underway or planned in the near future. In short, the policy proposes that the state distribute cash payments to all residents under its remit with minimal (or zero) conditionality; legal residents receive the payment whether you are working or not, independently of your financial situation. Proponents of the policy point to its potential to improve the financial security of those workers facing an increasingly precarious labour market, its capacity to help mitigate some of the effects of automation and its possible impact on gender inequality. Opponents of the policy point to its potential to further imbricate a financialised, possibly neoliberal, rationale into everyday life, as well as the potentially high costs of a UBI on the public purse. A further policy question which will guide this project, involves framing UBI as a reform to the system of welfare conditionality, which currently operates in the UK through the existing benefits system including Universal Credit (UC). As part of its remit, my postdoc will examine this debate in light of my PhD findings and the current welfare policies' emergence since New Labour's reforms - showing a 'how we got here' policy story, which consolidates my previous research into welfare policy history. UBI as a policy option has reemerged within a fertile and prolific period of academic work on welfare policy. My PhD is situated in this contemporary agenda. Throughout ten years of austerity-driven public policy in the UK, a substantial body of evidence has emerged via critical research into the impacts on the restructuring of social security services and welfare payment systems (including the development of UC). There is an emerging debate that has not only highlighted the negative effects of the rollout of UC, but has also thrown the idea of welfare conditionality itself into question. Key questions revolve around the ethical and practical implications of basing the eligibility for social security support on a 'willingness to work', as compared to a a system of unconditional cash support (which UBI policy proffers). Despite the potential for a cross-sector dialogue, the academic policy work on this topic - and the key researchers in the field - have been largely unconnected with the activities of the network of UBI activists economists and policy organisations that are pursuing work on UBI. This is beginning to change, with organisations such as the Basic Income Conversation starting to forge links between the UBI and welfare policy conversations. The fellowship will apply my PhD research findings to this productive interaction, and its activities will revolve around developing the policy implications therein. By building on my PhD research and experience and connections within the policy world, I intend to bring key stakeholders into conversation via online workshops and other forms of meetings, so as to build new collaborative potentials around the issue of welfare policy reform. On top of these networking engagements, I will produce three outputs: a book, a policy briefing and articles for various media outlets. Thus, fellowship will allow me to disseminate my work across various platforms to diverse audiences - from academic through to political and activist circles.