In the last decade the condition of Austria’s population and that of other EU member states has deteriorated, with increasingly unequal income distribution, a greater number of working poor and high levels of unemployment. Thus, it comes as no surprise that several groups (attac, and various Austrian leftists, liberals and Roman Catholics) are now demanding the introduction of qualitatively new concepts to counteract these tendencies. The most prominent is the idea of an “Unconditional Basic Income”. Transform!at has asked for support for a research project from the Austria’s Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research (FWF) to study in detail the implementation and possible medium-term effects of basic income, concentrating on empirical investigations and a mathematical simulation model (a dynamic agency model). The basic research questions are:
The FWF’s decision on financing the project is expected by the end of 2007. The full text of the proposal can be downloaded from http://peter.fleissner.org/uploads/texte/basic_income_project_description_Abgabeversion.doc
Contact: office@transform.or.at