Examining the environmental implications of basic income: understanding contributions to climate resilience and impacts on material consumption

研究问题基本收入对环境的影响是什么？子问题：a)基本收入如何有助于环境适应能力？b)基本收入对接受者的消费规模和构成有什么影响？(Global North Focus)ContextBasic Income(BI)是一种定期支付的现金，无条件和个别地提供给所有人(Bien N.D.)。近年来，它作为一项政策获得了吸引力，包括在抑制增长的讨论中，尤其是作为对新冠肺炎疫情的回应。BI被描述为“减少贫困的唯一最有效的方式”和“消除不平等的总体水平”，并可能有助于缓解无限经济增长的压力(2017)。BI的倡导者指出了社会利益：通过承认生殖工作、消除福利污名、精简福利官僚机构和增加自由来促进性别平等(例如，Standing 2017，Van Parijs 1997，Week，2011，Widerquist 2013)。其中许多主张得到了在芬兰、肯尼亚和印度等不同背景下进行的试验的支持(见2019年直接给予，Davala等人2015年)。然而，尽管至少自20世纪70年代以来就吸引了绿色政党和减速增长倡导者的支持，但显著缺乏研究商业智能对环境影响的实证工作(MacNeill和Vibert，2019年)。从理论上讲，BI可以通过减少贫困作为关键驱动因素来提高环境适应能力。它还可以减少脆弱性的子驱动因素，如教育或医疗保健不足。BI还可以通过促进更多的时间密集型、低资源福利，并为人们提供将自己排除在资本主义超消费模式之外的手段，来形成向后增长经济转型的一部分。或者，商业智能可以促进消费者支出和物质消费的增加。麦克尼尔和维伯特认为，商业智能对环境的影响将取决于其实施情况--即发展“绿色”商业智能计划(2019年)。工作计划一将通过巴斯大学的MRES国际开发中心发展研究技能。我还将利用巴斯大学的自由工作项目作为案例研究，开始规划商业智能和环境适应能力的研究。我将在西孟加拉邦和奥迪萨进行进一步的案例研究，由印度基本收入网络的萨拉特·达瓦拉领导。我将在第二年继续与WorkFree合作，并开始规划我对BI和改变材料消耗的研究。我将分析欧洲商业智能试验的数据，包括德国、西班牙和芬兰的数据，以及英国暂时提出的数据。这也使我能够与这些国家的国际学术机构建立联系。第三年和第四年将涉及进一步的数据分析和成果的撰写/传播。研究将是多方法的；结合调查、访谈、焦点小组和民族志观察，以及定量数据分析。为了与WorkFree保持一致，我将采取参与性的方法进行我的研究，与BI接受者本人合作创建弹性指标。社会科学和政策专家应对环境危机的重要性需要大胆、深远和具有变革性。BI之所以具有吸引力，正是因为它就是其中的每一个。然而，到目前为止，只有少数研究人员将这两个主题结合在一起，没有人经验性地研究其中一个作为缓解另一个的策略的可行性。该项目承诺将开辟新的学术领域，阐明BI是否以及如何为应对气候和其他环境危机做出贡献。如上所述，可寻求前往达卡和海得拉巴的空中交通管制。

Research QuestionWhat are the environmental implications of a basic income?Sub-questions:a) How does basic income contribute to environmental resilience?b) What impact does a basic income have on the scale and composition of recipients' consumption? (Global North focus)ContextBasic income (BI) is a periodic cash payment delivered unconditionally and individually to all people (BIEN n.d.). It has gained traction as a policy in recent years, including within de-growth discussions, particularly as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. BI has been described as the "single most effective way to reduce poverty" and "smooth out gross levels of inequality" and could contribute to relieving pressure on infinite economic growth (2017). Advocates of BI point to social benefits: advancing gender equality through recognition of reproductive work, eliminating welfare stigma, streamlining welfare bureaucracies, and increasing freedom (e.g. Standing 2017, Van Parijs 1997, Weeks, 2011, Widerquist 2013). Many of these claims have been supported by trials which have taken place in contexts as disparate as Finland, Kenya and India (see Give Directly 2019, Davala et al 2015). However, despite attracting support from green parties and de-growth advocates since at least the 1970s, there is a striking lack of empirical work examining the environmental implications of BI (MacNeill and Vibert, 2019). Theoretically, BI could increase environmental resilience by reducing poverty as a key driver. It could also reduce sub-drivers of vulnerability, such as inadequate education or healthcare. BI could also form part of the transition to a post-growth economy by facilitating more time-intensive, low-resource wellbeing and providing people with the means to exclude themselves from the capitalist hyper-consumption model. Alternatively, BI could facilitate increased consumer spending and material consumption. MacNeill and Vibert argue the environmental implications of BI will be dependent on its implementation - i.e. the development of "green" BI programmes (2019). Work PlanYear One will centre around developing research skills through an MRes International Development at the University of Bath. I will also begin planning research on BI and environmental resilience using the University of Bath's WorkFree programme as a case study. I will complement this with further case studies in West Bengal and Odisha, led by Sarath Davala of the India Network for Basic Income. I will continue my engagement with WorkFree in Year 2 and begin planning my research on BI and changing material consumption. I will analyse data from European BI trials, including in Germany, Spain and Finland, alongside those provisionally proposed in the UK. This will also allow me to connect with international academic institutions in these countries.Years 3 and 4 will involve further data analysis and write-up / dissemination of findings.The research will be multi-method; combining surveys, interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observation, as well as quantitative data analysis. In keeping with WorkFree, I will take a participatory approach to my research with the indicators for resilience being created in collaboration with BI recipients themselves.Importance for Social Science and PolicyEfforts to tackle environmental crises need to be bold, far-reaching and transformative. BI holds attraction precisely because it is each of these. Yet to date only a handful of researchers have brought these two subjects together and none has empirically investigated the viability of the one as a strategy for mitigating the other. This project promises to break new academic ground by shedding light on whether and how BI can contribute to the fight against climate and other environmental crises. As mentioned above, OFA to Dhaka and Hyderabad may be sought.