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 Huberth Méndez

Huberth Méndez is a multifaceted Costa Rican professional with a rich background in architecture, education, and research, with extensive experience spanning public institutions, private sector engagements, and non-governmental organizations. Through his work, he has pioneered initiatives aimed at challenging entrenched...

India Post making banking services available to all

From Times of India: A campaign in Prayagraj region of India aims to increase the number of users of digital banking. This campaign increases access to digital banking which is particularly useful for those who are physically disabled, older citizens,...

Organizing to Cancel Debt Fuels Systemic Change

From Cinnamon Janzer / Yes! Magazine: Occupy Wall Street ignited today’s debt cancellation movement. Groups like the Debt Collective are winning victories, canceling predatory student debt and pushing systemic reforms like tuition-free college. Though incremental, these changes are rewriting policy...

How some low-income buyers can afford a home in pricey Seattle

From Josh Cohen / CrossCut: In Seattle, Homestead Community Land Trust and Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County help low-income residents buy homes using a community land trust model. Residents who make under 80% of the local median income can purchase...

How cash transfer beneficiaries build wealth in Kwara

From The Nation: A guaranteed income program in Nigeria is helping recipients build businesses, expand existing ones, and build equity. Click here to read the original story. Read more original stories on income programs.

...

What Kenya can teach its neighbors — and the US — about improving the lives of the “unbanked”

From Kelsey Piper / Vox: Mobile banking in Kenya has increased economic mobility for families living in poverty. The mobile money system is not connected to bank accounts, making it accessible to the overwhelming majority of Kenyans who don’t have...