Public Health Advocacy for Basic Income as a Preventive Policy: Influencing the Social Determinants of Health

This presentation will make the argument that public health practitioners should advocate for   introduction of a basic or guaranteed income as a preventive measure.  The primary preventive action of a basic income operates through poverty reduction, one of the most powerful determinants of health.  In addition, a basic income will likely enhance child health through increasing parental time with children, and will likely positively influence another significant social determinant of health, the pursuit of education.

The presentation will contain five content areas.  First, basic income will be defined as an adequate, unconditional, regular payment to individuals on the basis of their membership in a political community.  The two delivery mechanisms (negative income tax and demogrant) will be described and examples will be provided.  Second, evidence from the literature on health and educational effects will be reviewed.  Evidence related directly to basic income is limited, but persuasive.  It will be supplemented by general evidence related to the effects of poverty on health Third, evidence related to labour supply; one of the key objections to a basic income will be reviewed.  The main conclusions from a number of experiments, is that the amount of labour supplied by primary earners is reduced only slightly, and that more significant reductions by secondary wage earners (largely women) result in enhanced parenting.  Fourth, the literature on cost estimation and sources of funding will be reviewed.  Fifth, the literature on political barriers to implementing a basic income will be described, along with strategies to surmount barriers.