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Basic Income and a Just Society: Policy Choices for Canada's Social Safety Net

Book Chapter
In this chapter, the authors focus mainly on the effects of various existing programs around the English-speaking world that transfer money to families with children, either through work-based or unconditional transfers. The authors organize their review of the literature around program structure, classifying program alternatives into three categories: 1) work-based programs (e.g. the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the United States, and the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) in Canada) ; 2) unconditional but means-tested cash transfers (e.g. Canadian Child Benefit (CCB) in Canada since 2016); and 3) unconditional and universal cash transfers (e.g. Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) in Canada (from 2006-2016) and the Child Benefit in the UK). The authors also present some evidence on the exact mechanisms by which these programs achieve their effects.
Faculty

Professor of Economics