A Feasible Basic Income Scheme for Germany Effects on Labor Supply,
This book analyzes the consequences that would arise if Germany’s means-tested unemployment benefits were replaced with an unconditional basic income. The basic income scheme introduced is based on a negative income tax and calibrated to be both financial
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Maximilian Sommer
A Feasible Basic Income Scheme for Germany Effects on Labor Supply, Poverty, and Income Inequality
Contributions to Economics
More information about this series http://www.springer.com/series/1262
Maximilian Sommer
A Feasible Basic Income Scheme for Germany Effects on Labor Supply, Poverty, and Income Inequality
123
Maximilian Sommer Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt Ingolstadt, Germany
ISSN 1431-1933 Contributions to Economics ISBN 978-3-319-24062-6 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24064-0
ISSN 2197-7178 (electronic) ISBN 978-3-319-24064-0 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016932357 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Foreword
The ethical claim to grant all members of society an unconditional basic income has a long-standing tradition. It can be traced back to the works of Thomas Paine (1737– 1809) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). In the twentieth century, this idea has been developed further to the model of a negative income tax by Lady Rhys-Williams. In economics, scholars with diverse ideological backgrounds such as Jan Tinbergen, James Tobin, Milton Friedman, and James Buchanan have argued in favor of an unconditional basic income scheme. However, putting these ideas into practice faces two challenges. The first is that these reforms either violate economic or distributive objectives. Proposals that safeguard a subsistence minimum to all households (e.g. social-dividendtype models) entail drastically increasing tax rates, while poverty gap-type models violate the imperative of the welfare state. Secondly, the impacts of radical reforms of the social security scheme on labor supply are still unclear. However, these effects are crucial for the economic and ethical evaluation of a
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