Press Release: The macroeconomic effects of UBI in NYC, working paper

Research findings address open questions about basic income’s potential effects on welfare and inflation.

Read the full press release here, and the working paper here.

JFI’s Project Lead on this research, Stephen Nuñez, also wrote this piece to help readers understand the results and implications.

Press Release

New York, NY – FRIDAY, JANUARY 17 – A new working paper, supported by the Jain Family Institute, presents the first attempt to model a UBI’s general equilibrium effects at the city level. In “Universal Basic Income and the City,” Khalil Esmkhani and Jack Favilukis of the University of British Columbia, and Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh of New York University, explore the effects of a guaranteed income policy implemented at the city-level in New York City. They find that, when financed through a progressive income tax, a $5,000-per-household-per-year UBI increases general welfare and, perhaps surprisingly, does not lead to housing market inflation. Their research sheds new light on the possible inflationary effects of basic income policies. It also suggests that the method used to finance a UBI has significant implications for the policy’s outcomes and characteristics… continue reading