
Finland 'free money' trial did not spur unemployed to find work, researchers say - draugadrotten
https://www.euronews.com/2019/02/08/finland-free-money-trial-did-not-spur-unemployed-to-find-work-researchers-say
======
jaclaz
Well, the next one will be Italy experimenting something of the sort.

The thing is senselessly called "reddito di cittadinanza" (citizenship income)
while being nothing but an extremely complicated version of "unemployment
support".

The actual details (that are not yet fully-fully defined AFAIK) are so stupid
and ineffective in practice that it makes me cringe to list them. Anyway here
are a few of them:

you need to have a low income (fair)

you will be proposed (maybe) during the period of two years no less than three
jobs, these jobs will be proposed to you by the employment office (something
that has historically never provided a job to anyone in the last thirty years)

you will need to accept the job if it is within 250 km during first year and
"anywhere" in Italy on second year (since presumably these jobs will be low-
end ones, having to commute or move to another city is simply not feasible)

you won't have actual money, but rather a sort of pre-paid card that you will
be able to use (maybe) in (maybe) a number of conventioned stores to buy only
some (approved) kind of goods (maybe "fair", but more than a tad bit
"moralistic")

if you don't spend within the month the whole allowance, next month it will be
cut by 20% (pure folly)

------
alexgmcm
But is the purpose of a UBI or Negative Income Tax to spur people to find
work?

I think the benefit is it allows people to take more risk - so they can avoid
taking a bad job and getting stuck in a local minimum (like intelligent
college graduates stuck making coffee or would-be entrepreneurs who cannot
risk launching their side project) which then allows them to contribute more
to society (both in taxes and other manners).

Also given the expense of administering means-tested welfare programs it could
be more efficient.

------
75dvtwin
could the reason be, that the sample size is too small ? Or may be age group.

I am thinking if free money were given to unemployed college graduates for 2
years, than they would more likely find jobs (even if they pay less than what
they were expecting with their particular college degrees)

------
Cypher
I bet they found something to do though.

