New article published in 'Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy'
3. Dezember 2020
The article "The social legitimacy of the universal basic income from a social justice perspective: a comparative analysis of Germany and Slovenia" has now been published by the 'Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy'. In the article, Katharina Zimmermann (University of Hamburg), Urban Boljka (University of Ljubljana), Tatjana Rakar (University of Ljubljana) and Maša Filipovič Hrast (University of Ljubljana) compare debates about a universal basic income in Slovenia and Germany. Using data from large group discussions, they reveal a strong influnce of respective national welfare institutions and the social justice principles embodied in those institutions on the perspective adopted by the participants towards a universal basic income.
DOI: 10.1017/ics.2020.29
Abstract:
The universal basic income (UBI) has found its way into public debates and has prominent advocates across almost all political camps. In many debates, it is presented as a solution for the consequences of a large variety of current societal challenges, such as unemployment, over-education, ecological crises, gender inequality and issues related to digitalization and automatization. While UBI has been discussed broadly from an expert position, we know very little about the population’s perceptions of UBI. Thus, to shed light on the public legitimacy of UBI as a radically different concept of social justice and citizenship, our contribution uses data from large group discussions where participants explicitly refer to the UBI as an option for a future welfare state. By comparing debates in Slovenia and Germany, we unearth that the perspective adopted by the participants towards a UBI is strongly shaped by the welfare institutions of the countries in which they live and the social justice principles embodied in those institutions.