This is what one of the world’s largest experiments in basic income looks like

From Meaghan Tobin and Márvio Dos Anjos / Rest of World: Mumbuca is a digital currency used in Maricà’s basic income program. Residents, with few eligibility requirements, can qualify for a monthly stipend to purchase goods and services using a smart phone or a card. The currency runs on the digital platform E-dinheiro and can only be spent in the city limits. Individuals cannot swap Mumbucas for national currency, but businesses can after a 48-hour waiting period and a 1% fee. Local currencies, which are popular in Brazil, help residents increase personal savings and, with increased stipends during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed informal workers to stay home.

Click here to read the full story on Rest of World.

Issue Areas:

Alternative Forms of Income, Wellbeing Economics

Impact Areas:

Creating New Economic Paradigms

Actors:

Government

Communities Served:

—

Strategies:

Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Reallocating Government / Public Financing

Success Factors:

Addressing Underlying Issues, Providing Cash Instead Of Goods/Services, Using Creative Financing

Geographic Region:

South America

Countries:

Brazil

Date:

July 23, 2020

More Resources:

Conversation with Andrew Schwartz

Andrew Schwartz is a Senior Advisor at The Common Initiative, working within a collective of experts on biodiversity, climate, human rights, and economic reform. Previously, as Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Center for Earth Ethics, Andrew led efforts to...

Conversation with Kari Wolanksi

Kari Wolinsky is the acting director of the Center for Social Data Insights and Innovation at Statistics Canada. She previously worked at the Department of Finance designing Canada’s Quality of Life framework. Kari Wolanksi spoke with Ashley Hopkinson on March...

Conversation with Alfredo Jose Brillembourg

Alfredo Jose Brillembourg is the founder of Urban–Think Tank Design Group, with offices in New York, São Paulo, Caracas, Oslo, Geneva, and Cape Town. Through his leadership at Urban–Think Tank, he has spearheaded innovative architecture and urban design projects globally,...

Dubai becomes world’s first paperless government

From Varun Godinho / Gulf Business: The government of Dubai became the world’s first paperless government with all 45 government entities providing digital services. Becoming entirely digital has been more efficient for public service delivery and reduces harmful environmental impacts....

Evanston has an affordability problem – community land trusts can help

From Duncan Agnew / Evanston RoundTable: Through a land trust, Community Partners in Affordable Housing sells homes to buyers at a fixed cost while maintaining ownership of the land they’re built on, allowing those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to...

How Norway Built an Economy That Puts People First

From Isabella Breda / Yes! Magazine: Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a “decades-long effort to create an equitable economy” that helped the government to enact a package that...