Jurgen De Wispelaere | University of Bath (original) (raw)

Articles by Jurgen De Wispelaere

Journal of Sociology, 2023

In the wake of several recent crises, universal basic income has emerged as a serious policy solu... more In the wake of several recent crises, universal basic income has emerged as a serious policy solution. Not only is basic income pitched as a tool to mitigate the effects of a diverse set of emergencies, it has been argued that successive crises have importantly contributed to the surge in media and policy interest in basic income. In this article we critically examine this proposition. We first argue against the inherent functionalism of many accounts and instead propose a political economy framework that ties basic income directly to a series of mechanisms that may explain the opening up of basic income policy windows during recent crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic. It is equally important to carefully distinguish between different types of crises and we argue that two key competing typescyclical and permanent crisesface a distinctive set of political economy constraints. We illustrate our approach by analysing the prospects of basic income in six distinct crisis events.

European Journal of Social Security, 2022

Basic income experiments have emerged across Europe in recent years, but until now analysis has f... more Basic income experiments have emerged across Europe in recent years, but until now analysis has focused on their design and the scientific interpretation of their results, rather than the subsequent policy impact of these projects. This special issue addresses this gap. The papers all focus on whether and how the European basic income experiments have made an observable impact on the basic income debate and social security reform more generally. The special issue includes country case studies of the three countries in Europe that have completed their experiments, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as a case study of Scotland, where a feasibility study did not result in a field experiment, and of Ireland, which is in the process of planning at least one experiment. Two papers then also examine the effect of these experiments on the debate at EU level and outside Europe, in Australia. The special issue provides a novel contribution that advances both the scholarly and policy debates surrounding basic income at a time when COVID-19 appears to have increased interest in the policy and equally seems to have propelled the idea of experimenting with basic income even further into the mainstream.

Disability and Rehabilitation, 2023

This article focuses on the risk that work disability policies lock people into work disability r... more This article focuses on the risk that work disability policies lock people into work disability rather than promote durable health and return to work. We outline the concept of a work disability trap as a heuristic device to explore this policy paradox inherent in the design of most social insurance systems. We identify three manifestations of the disability trap: not overcoming disability; underperforming; and returning to work prematurely. The causes of these manifestations are identified as structural rather than based on malingering clients, while negative consequences are identified both on client and system levels. We emphasize the need for systems built on trust and reasonable expectations, and the need for providing rehabilitation support independently of economic compensation. Universal basic income is introduced as a potential tool to ameliorate some of the consequences of the disability trap.

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2021

This paper focuses on an emergency basic income (EBI) as a tool for avoiding financial insecurity... more This paper focuses on an emergency basic income (EBI) as a tool for avoiding financial insecurity during the time of pandemic. The authors argue that paying each resident a monthly cash amount for the duration of the crisis would serve to protect them from the economic fallout.They suggest three reasons why the EBI proposal is particularly well-suited to play an important role in a comprehensive public health response to COVID-19: it offers an immediate and agile response; it prioritizes the most vulnerable in the affected population; and it promotes a solidaristic response to the pandemic crisis. To go beyond the need to shut down and restart an EBI assistance scheme each time a pandemic hits, the authors propose considering turning the program into a permanent feature.

Socio-Economic Review, Feb 2021

An increasingly influential claim is that exit-based empowerment through an unconditional basic i... more An increasingly influential claim is that exit-based empowerment through an unconditional basic income offers the cornerstone of an effective strategy for supporting precarious workers in contemporary labor markets. However, it is plausible to assume that supporting the 'power to say no'-to avoid or leave unattractive jobs-will empower precarious workers only to the extent that it offers the basis of a credible exit threat. In this article, we argue that a basic income-induced exit strategy amounts to a hollow threat. In light of a realistic understanding of how labor markets operate and how the opportunities of disadvantaged workers are presently struc-tured, we show that the basic income-centered exit option can easily become an exit trap rather than an empowered fallback position.

CESifo Forum, 2018

In 2015 the newly-elected Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä committed his centre-right coalitio... more In 2015 the newly-elected Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä committed his centre-right coalition government to launching a basic income experiment. A two-year randomised controlled trial (RCT) started in January 2017. Finland was initially hailed as spearheading a new paradigm shift in European welfare policy, with advocates and decision-makers around the world watching closely to see how the Finnish experiment would develop. However, as more details emerged, and in particular as key limitations in the Finnish experimental design and implementation became apparent, initial enthusiasm amongst basic income advocates and interested parties rapidly turned into overt criticism. A proper understanding of the context in which the basic income experiment emerged reveals that the phenomenon to be explained is that the experiment happened in the first place. In this article, we suggest that far from having opened a window of opportunity, recent interest in basic income experimentation may amount to little more than a glitch in a remarkably stable policy landscape focused on labour market activation.

Social Policy and Society, 2019

Finland is widely considered a frontrunner in the European basic income debate, primarily because... more Finland is widely considered a frontrunner in the European basic income debate, primarily because of the decision by Juha Sipila ̈’s centre-right coalition government to design and conduct the first national basic income experiment (2017–2018). The Finnish basic income experiment builds on several decades of public and policy debate around the merits and problems of basic income, with the framing of basic income over time changing to fit the shift of the Nordic welfare state to embrace the activation paradigm. Underlying this discursive layer, however, we find several discrete, relatively small and unintended institutional developments that have arguably aligned the design of Finnish unemployment security closer to a partial basic income scheme. While the latter may suggest Finland has important stepping stones in place, important stumbling blocks remain and the jury is very much out on whether Finland would be the first European country to fully institute a basic income.

The Political Quarterly, 2018

This article develops the position we have taken in debate with Anthony Atkinson that a participa... more This article develops the position we have taken in debate with Anthony Atkinson that a participation income (PI) would be problematic from an administrative and political point of view. We argue that Atkinson remains far too optimistic about the magnitude of administrative difficulties a PI would face. Negotiating these difficulties will inevitably involve the sort of political trade-offs PI is supposedly able to avoid when compared to its more controversial cousin, the unconditional basic income. The enduring significance of 'The case for a participation income', we argue, lies in the often neglected point that Atkinson intends a PI as a supplement to an eroding contribution-based welfare state. In the current political and fiscal environment, the case for a universal support scheme set below the rate of subsistence, and supplemented by other forms of welfare support, deserves careful re-examination.

ISRF Bulletin 13, Jun 2017

The Political Quarterly, May 15, 2017

Basic income advocates propose a model that they believe will dramatically improve on current wel... more Basic income advocates propose a model that they believe will dramatically improve on current welfare programmes by alleviating poverty, reducing involuntary unemployment and social exclusion, redistributing care work, achieving a better work–life balance, and so on. Whether these expected social effects materialise in practice critically depends on how the model is implemented, but on this topic the basic income debate remains largely silent. Few advocates explicitly consider questions of implementation, and those that do are typically dismissive of the administrative challenges of implementing a basic income and critical (even overtly hostile) towards bureaucracy. In this contribution we briefly examine (and rebut) several reasons that have led basic income advocates to ignore administration. The main peril of such neglect, we argue, is that it misleads basic income advocates into a form of Panglossian optimism that risks causing basic income advocacy to become self-defeating.

Basic Income Studies, Aug 15, 2016

A widespread argument in the basic income debate is that the unconditional entitlement to a secur... more A widespread argument in the basic income debate is that the unconditional entitlement to a secure income floor improves workers' bargaining position visa -vis their employers. Basic income effectively grants all (potential) workers an exit option from an employment relation that fails to take her interests into account. It gives them the " power to say no " , as argued by Karl Widerquist. Surprisingly, given its importance, the exit argument itself has not been subjected to much systematic analysis by basic income advocates. In this paper we critically examine the exit argument and suggest that, under current economic conditions, an exit strategy might end up worsening rather than strengthening the opportunity set and bargaining position of the most vulnerable workers.

Public Health Ethics, Jun 2016

This is the introduction to a special issue bringing together experts in republican political the... more This is the introduction to a special issue bringing together experts in republican political theory and public health scholars to discuss the merits and problems of applying republican ideas to public health. This special issue builds on a workshop we held at Southampton University on 13–14 May 2014, jointly organized by the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy and the Health, Ethics and Law unit at Southampton University.

Journal of Social Policy, Feb 10, 2016

Following the success of a recent Swiss Citizens’ Initiative to grant each citizen an uncondition... more Following the success of a recent Swiss Citizens’ Initiative to grant each citizen an unconditional income guarantee and the Finnish Government’s plans to conduct the first national pilot project, the idea of a basic income as a citizens’ right has gained much prominence in the policy debate. This article reviews a number of policy developments on the ground through the lens of the policy transfer literature. In the absence of a fully developed basic income in place, proponents must rely on partially implemented schemes or proposals that differ in crucial respects from the basic income ideal. This paper outlines three sets of empirical cases and analyses what (if any) lessons we can draw from them regarding the future of basic income schemes.

Philosophy and Social Criticism, Oct 10, 2016

A basic income is typically defined as an individual’s entitlement to receive a regular payment a... more A basic income is typically defined as an individual’s entitlement to receive a regular payment as a right, independent of other sources of income, employment or willingness to work, or living situation. In this article, we examine what it means for the state to institute a right to basic income. The normative literature on basic income has developed numerous arguments in support of basic income as an inextricable component of a just social order, but there exists little analysis about basic income within a jurisprudential or philosophical rights perspective. In our view, strong reasons of either a principled or pragmatic nature in support of instituting a basic income scheme nevertheless often fall short of warranting that we ascribe to basic income a distinctive Hohfeldian rights status. This article aims to partially redress this gap by examining two sets of questions. First, what are the implications – ethical and practical – of adopting basic income as a legal right as opposed to a mere policy? Second, we also enquire whether there should be such a right: what, if anything, is the ethical foundation that warrants granting basic income a distinctive legal rights status? This article suggests that any such foundation must be grounded in comparative evaluation and discusses several comparative strategies available to basic income advocates. The aim of this article is not to offer a definite argument in favor of a legal right to basic income, but chart several lines of argument that a rights perspective might add to the contemporary discussion.

European Journal of Social Theory, May 2016

Europe is experiencing rapidly accelerating poverty and social exclusion, following half a decade... more Europe is experiencing rapidly accelerating poverty and social exclusion, following half a decade of financial crisis and austerity politics. The key problem behind Europe’s malaise, in our view, is the economic disenfranchisement of large parts of its population in the winner-takes-all-society. This article proposes that we examine the contribution of republican political theory as a distinctive approach that provides us with the conceptual and normative resources to reclaim what we call the political economy of democracy, the constellation of political and economic institutions aimed at promoting broad eco- nomic sovereignty and individuals’ capacities to govern their own lives. This article identifies three key ideas that together constitute a distinctively republican approach to political economy: (1) establish an economic floor; (2) impose an economic ceiling to counter excess economic inequality; and (3) democratize the governance and regulation of the main economic institutions.

Journal of Public Policy, Nov 15, 2016

While basic income has surged in policy interest in recent years, political research has not kept... more While basic income has surged in policy interest in recent years, political research has not kept up with the debate in the trenches. In this paper we tackle a political problem any enacting coalition must face: how to ensure the political stability of a basic income scheme over time. We first demonstrate how basic income schemes are particularly vulnerable to processes of policy change discussed in the recent policy feedback literature. We then analyze whether constitutionalizing basic income in a Bill of Rights protected by strong judicial review would offer a valuable route for boosting basic income’s stability. A careful examination of the decision-making process within judicial review suggests that, caught up in a dilemma between judicial restraint and judicial activism, an enacting coalition would do well not to rely on constitutional mechanisms as the sole avenue for ensuring the political stability of basic income.

Politics, May 10, 2016

Policy interest in the basic income (BI) proposal is booming, but remarkably little attention is ... more Policy interest in the basic income (BI) proposal is booming, but remarkably little attention is spent on systematically examining political strategies to build robust enabling coalitions in favour of BI. This paper reviews two thorny problems that affect the coalition-building efforts of BI advocates. The problem of cheap political support suggests most BI support may be of little value to further its implementation, while the problem of persistent political division argues superficial agreement amongst committed BI advocates may mask persistent disagreement on which precise model to adopt. The paper discusses the relevance of each of these problems for BI politics, employing both analytical arguments and brief illustrations taken from debates in various countries.

Disability and Society, 2014

This article outlines a republican perspective on disability. We argue that a commitment to ensur... more This article outlines a republican perspective on disability. We argue that a commitment to ensuring the republican freedom of disabled citizens offers a promising account of what disabled citizens are owed as a matter of justice. A republican perspective offers a particular diagnosis of the injustice of disability disadvantage, both in relation to individuals (dominium) and the state (imperium), that is congenial to prominent concerns voiced by the disability rights movement. This article also offers a brief outline of three republican remedies: the right of social participation, the right of opportunities for civic contribution, and the right of democratic contestation. These remedies constitute key guidelines for the robust institutional protection of disabled citizens’ republican freedom.

Political Studies, 2013

We challenge the view, typically assumed by advocates of unconditional basic income (UBI), that i... more We challenge the view, typically assumed by advocates of unconditional basic income (UBI), that its administration is uncontroversial. We identify three essential tasks which, from the point of view of the administrative cybernetics literature, any income maintenance policy must accomplish: defining criteria of eligibility, determining who meets such criteria and disbursing payments to those found to be eligible. Building on the work of Christopher Hood, we contrast two alternative ways in which the design of a UBI might apply the principle of ‘using bureaucracy sparingly’ to the performance of each of these three tasks. Relating these alternative designs to the politics of basic income, we show a correspondence between contrasting senses of using bureaucracy sparingly and ‘redistributive’ and ‘aggregative’ UBI models.

International Social Security Review 65(2), 2012

This paper considers the implementation of a universal basic income, a neglected area in basic in... more This paper considers the implementation of a universal basic income, a neglected area in basic income research. We identify and examine three important practical bottlenecks that may prevent a basic income scheme from attaining the universal reach desired and proclaimed by its advocates: (1) maintaining a population-wide cadaster of eligible claimants ensuring full take-up; (2) instituting robust modalities of payment that reach all intended beneficiaries; and (3) designing an effective oversight mechanism in a policy context that actively opposes client monitoring. We argue basic income faces unique implementation challenges that its proponents must consider carefully.

Journal of Sociology, 2023

European Journal of Social Security, 2022

Disability and Rehabilitation, 2023

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2021

Socio-Economic Review, Feb 2021

CESifo Forum, 2018

Social Policy and Society, 2019

The Political Quarterly, 2018

ISRF Bulletin 13, Jun 2017

The Political Quarterly, May 15, 2017

Basic Income Studies, Aug 15, 2016

Public Health Ethics, Jun 2016

Journal of Social Policy, Feb 10, 2016

Philosophy and Social Criticism, Oct 10, 2016

European Journal of Social Theory, May 2016

Journal of Public Policy, Nov 15, 2016

Politics, May 10, 2016

Disability and Society, 2014

Political Studies, 2013

International Social Security Review 65(2), 2012

The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, 2023

In 2015, Juha Sipilä’s newly elected centre-right coalition government committed to launching a B... more In 2015, Juha Sipilä’s newly elected centre-right coalition government committed to launching a Basic Income experiment in its Government Programme. This propelled Finland onto the international scene and portrayed it as one of the leaders in Basic Income policy development. Yet the specifics of the Basic Income experiment—its design and implementation features—as well as the background to this decision, which is rooted in several decades of public and political debate surrounding the Basic Income proposal, remains little understood. Similarly, the experimental results and their impact on the Finnish social security debate remain unclear. In this primer we aim to shed light on the main features of the Finnish Basic Income experiment—its design, implementation, evaluation, and impact—and briefly reflect on the lessons to be learned for social security policy development in Finland and the wider Basic Income policy community.

D. C. Poff, A. C. Michalos (eds.), Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics, 2023

Denise Celentano and Luigi Caranti (eds), Paradigms of Justice Redistribution, Recognition, and Beyond. Routledge, 2020

In this chapter we propose to examine the justification of basic income from a recognition-theore... more In this chapter we propose to examine the justification of basic income from a recognition-theoretical perspective as a complement to the freedom-based justification. Rather than seeing freedom and recognition as competing approaches, we suggest that both share important features and can be fruitfully combined to achieve a more plausible account of the role a basic income could play in an individual’s life. We argue that a strong recognition-theoretical argument for basic income emerges from combining considerations of universal respect and care (or concern) for well-being. We then turn towards what is arguably the most challenging mode of recognition for defenders of basic income: social esteem. Esteem is a critical feature of Honneth’s recognition order but at the same time appears in constant tension with the basic income ideal. We examine this tension by focusing on the particular nature of esteem as a relational and positional good. Conceptually distinguishing different forms of social esteem, we offer several ways in which a universal basic income can be made compatible with a recognition order that gives pride of place to differential esteem.

Gentilini, Ugo; Grosh, Margaret; Rigolini, Jamele; Yemtsov, Ruslan (eds.) Exploring Universal Basic Income : A Guide to Navigating Concepts, Evidence, and Practices. World Bank, 2020

Universal basic income (UBI) is emerging as one of the most hotly debated issues in development a... more Universal basic income (UBI) is emerging as one of the most hotly debated issues in development and social protection policy. But what are the features of UBI? What is it meant to achieve? How do we know, and what don’t we know, about its performance? What does it take to implement it in practice? Drawing from global evidence, literature, and survey data, this volume provides a framework to elucidate issues and trade-offs in UBI with a view to help inform choices around its appropriateness and feasibility in different contexts. Specifically, the book examines how UBI differs from or complements other social assistance programs in terms of objectives, coverage, incidence, adequacy, incentives, effects on poverty and inequality, financing, political economy, and implementation. It also reviews past and current country experiences, surveys the full range of existing policy proposals, provides original results from micro–tax benefit simulations, and sets out a range of considerations around the analytics and practice of UBI. This chapter discusses the political feasibility of UBI from a broad political economy perspective.

Malcolm Torry (ed.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Basic Income. Palgrave, 2019

In 2015, Juha Sipilä's newly elected centre-right coalition government committed to launching a b... more In 2015, Juha Sipilä's newly elected centre-right coalition government committed to launching a basic income experiment in its Government Programme. Finland since has been propelled on the international scene and portrayed as one of the leaders in basic income policy development. Yet the specifics of the basic income experiment-its design and implementation features-as well as the background to this decision, which is rooted in several decades of public and political debate surrounding the basic income proposal, remains little understood. In this primer we aim to shed light on the main features of the Finnish basic income experiment and briefly reflect on the lessons to be learned for social security policy development in Finland and the wider basic income policy community.

Sarah Hannan, Samantha Brennan and Richard Vernon (eds.) Permissible Progeny. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015

In a recent paper, we argued that states ought to regulate access to assisted reproduction techno... more In a recent paper, we argued that states ought to regulate access to assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) in order to privilege adoption among prospective parents who cannot acquire children “naturally”. One important implication of the proposed scheme is that it appears to create an objectionable inequality between parents who can procreate naturally and those who cannot. State action in this area is ethically constrained in a variety of ways that preclude our simply seeing it as an enforcer of abstractly stated moral duties. One purpose of this chapter is to outline the constraints that impede the state’s ability to regulate natural procreation in particular. The latter go some way towards justifying the unequal treatment of natural parents compared to those requiring reproductive assistance. A second goal of this chapter, however, is to show several ways in which the state could nevertheless legitimately influence the reproductive choices of natural parents while avoiding the aforementioned constraints and optimizing for the interests of children in need of a family.

Alexander Bagattini & Colin MacLeod (eds) The Nature of Children's Well-Being: Theory and Practice. Springer, 2014

In June 2012, a German court in Cologne outlawed the circumcision for non-medical reasons of male... more In June 2012, a German court in Cologne outlawed the circumcision for non-medical reasons of male children, when a young Muslim boy suffered complications after having undergone the procedure. The court judged that in the absence of consent, circumcision constitutes an assault on the physical integrity of children, one that cannot be justified by any offsetting benefit. The decision created a political firestorm, and by the end of the year, the German Bundestag had introduced legislation that reaffirmed the permissibility of such elective circumcisions, on condition that they be carried out in medically appropriate ways, and that parents be provided with information about the possible complications arising from circumcision. This controversy has reignited debate around the permissibility of circumcision. It also points to a broader ethical and political question, which has to do with the nature of the prerogative that ought to be granted by the state to parents to raise their children as they see fit, and in particular, to raise them in accordance with the tenets of a religion, even when in so doing they impose what would but for their religious identification represent setbacks to their interests. We will be exploring the question of the permissibility of circumcision in the context of this broader set of questions. In particular, we are interested in the question of the degree and ways in which parents should be allowed by the state to make decisions for their children which, though they may serve the cause of facilitating the integration of these children into their cultural or religious communities, may not be in the interest of children.

Francoise Baylis & Carolyn MacLeod (eds.) Family-Making: Contemporary Ethical Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014

Advances in medical technology make it increasingly possible for a couple (or a single individual... more Advances in medical technology make it increasingly possible for a couple (or a single individual) unable to conceive naturally to bring into the world a “child of their own” through assisted reproductive technologies (ART). While principled resistance to reproductive assistance persists, in many jurisdictions access to such assistance is permissible and even actively supported. But those who find no moral objection to the use of reproductive assistance as such may still think there are good reasons for the state to legitimately regulate and possibly restrict its availability. The purpose of this chapter is to delineate the conditions under which we might think certain limits on ART justified. Specifically, we examine whether the existence of large numbers of adoptive children in need of parents warrants restricting access to assisted reproduction.

Richard Caputo (ed.), Basic Income Guarantee and Politics: International Experiences and Perspectives on the Viability of Income Guarantee. New York: Palgrave, 2012

For much of the last two decades, debate around the proposal of a universal basic income (BI) cen... more For much of the last two decades, debate around the proposal of a universal basic income (BI) centered on arguing the ethical and economic case for instituting a policy that grants each adult citizen a guaranteed income as a right, without a means test or work requirement. The question of how to bring about such a policy—the question of political feasibility—has only recently gained traction amongst BI advocates. Leaving aside some notable exceptions, much work remains to be done to further our understanding of the challenges faced by BI advocates and the strategies available to overcome these. In this chapter, we aim to contribute to this enterprise by outlining an analytical framework to think about the political feasibility of BI in a more systematic manner. The framework we propose in this chapter is constructed around two key political dimensions that constitute the core of the policy process: agency and constraints. Combined, these dimensions generate a matrix with four types of political feasibility: strategic feasibility, institutional feasibility, psychological feasibility, and behavioral feasibility. Each of these types will be briefly explored in the remainder of this chapter with specific focus on their relevance for BI.

Karl Widerquist and Michael Howard (eds.) Examining the Alaska Model: Is the Permanent Fund Dividend a Model Ready for Export? New York: Palgrave, 2012

Since 1982, each Alaskan has received an equal share of the returns to the Alaska Permanent Fund ... more Since 1982, each Alaskan has received an equal share of the returns to the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF), a publicly owned investment portfolio funded by the state’s oil revenue. These returns come in the form of a Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) allocating an annual grant of roughly $1,200 to each man, woman, and child who meets the residency requirement. In this chapter we assess the pros and cons of the Alaska model from the perspective of contemporary republicanism, an approach in political theory most famously associated with the work of Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit. This chapter argues that for republicans to endorse exporting the Alaska model into other polities would require significantly amending the basic model as well as expanding the discussion of the PFD to include the broader policy environment within which the model is expected to operate. But expanding the parameters of the Alaska model in either of these two ways is likely to introduce further obstacles that make exporting the model considerably more difficult. While the Alaska model may be compatible with republican concerns in a weak sense, republicans ought to proceed cautiously endorsing the model in any strong sense.

Gily Coene & Kristof Uvijn (eds.) Naar een inclusief burgerschap voor personen met een beperking. Gent: Academia Press,, 2013

David Casassas and Daniel Raventós (eds.) La renta básica en la era de las grandes desigualdades. Barcelona: Montesinos, 2011

¿Constituye la renta básica una medida potencialmente emancipatoria? ¿Se halla dicho potencial e... more ¿Constituye la renta básica una medida potencialmente emancipatoria? ¿Se halla dicho potencial emancipatorio presente en cualquier proyecto de renta básica que podamos alumbrar? Este artículo nace del convencimiento de que el primer interrogante merece una respuesta afirmativa y de que el se- gundo ha de ser contestado con una cautelosa negación. En efecto, estas páginas aspiran a mostrar que el potencial emancipatorio de la renta básica no es algo que venga dado de forma necesaria por su propia definición como política de transferencia de rentas de carácter universal e incondicional, sino que depende de la naturaleza del contexto social e institucional en el que se acomode. Hemos dividido este capítulo en dos grandes apartados que se centran en cada uno de estos dos ámbitos. En el primero de ellos, presentamos algu- nas reflexiones para el análisis del potencial emancipatorio de la renta básica en el contexto de los debates actuales sobre el funcionamiento y posible transformación de los regímenes de bienestar que hemos conocido. El segundo apartado presenta algunos instrumentos para el análisis de las condiciones bajo las cuales la conformación de coaliciones y plataformas para la promoción de la renta básica tiene visos de proporcionar resultados positivos en términos de progreso social y político de formas emancipatorias de dicha medida. Cerraremos el capítulo proponiendo algunos criterios para la articulación de bloques tejidos alrededor de ejes de lucha de carácter transformador coherentes entre sí y orientados a la promoción de intereses sociales y políticos razonablemente homogéneos.

Anne van Aaken, Christian List & Christoph Luetge (eds.) Deliberation and Decision: Economics, Constitutional Theory and Deliberative Democracy. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004

In this chapter I comment on Andreas Suchanek's paper "What is Meant by Consent", published in th... more In this chapter I comment on Andreas Suchanek's paper "What is Meant by Consent", published in the same volume. In this commentary I challenge Suchanek’s essay on two grounds. First I argue that his critique of the justificatory role of consent theory largely misses its target, and therefore does not invalidate justificatory consent theory in general. In addition I list some sceptical thoughts about the heuristic approach championed by Suchanek. The heuristics of implicit and hypothetical consent largely rehearse insights familiar from rational choice theory and game theory. However, I suggest that one might vindicate the heuristic approach by focussing on the idea of express consent because it serves an important signalling function under conditions of imperfect information and moral pluralism. In my view, contemporary democratic theory would do well to integrate this function in its analysis of consent theory.

The Ethics of Stakeholding. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2003

This introduction to a recent collection of papers on "The Ethics of Stakeholding" charts the dev... more This introduction to a recent collection of papers on "The Ethics of Stakeholding" charts the development of recent debates on universal welfare, with specific reference to basic income and stakeholder grants. The chapter offers a brief historical background to the current debate before outlining the main arguments put forward in favour of stakeholder policies as well as the key areas in which they remain challenged.

Sven Gatz and Patrick Stouthuysen (eds.) Een Vierde Weg? Links-Liberalisme als traditie en oriëntatiepunt. Brussel: VUBPress, 2001

Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy, 2019

Childhood looms large in our understanding of human life, as a phase through which all adults hav... more Childhood looms large in our understanding of human life, as a phase through which all adults have passed. Childhood is foundational to the development of selfhood, the formation of interests, values and skills and to the lifespan as a whole. Understanding what it is like to be a child, and what differences childhood makes, are thus essential for any broader understanding of the human condition. The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children is an outstanding reference source for the key topics, problems and debates in this crucial and exciting field and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into five parts:

· Being a child

· Childhood and moral status

· Parents and children

· Children in society

· Children and the state.

Questions covered include: What is a child? Is childhood a uniquely valuable state, and if so why? Can we generalize about the goods of childhood? What rights do children have, and are they different from adults’ rights? What (if anything) gives people a right to parent? What role, if any, ought biology to play in determining who has the right to parent a particular child? What kind of rights can parents legitimately exercise over their children? What roles do relationships with siblings and friends play in the shaping of childhoods? How should we think about sexuality and disability in childhood, and about racialised children? How should society manage the education of children? How are children’s lives affected by being taken into social care?

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of childhood, political philosophy and ethics as well as those in related disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology, social policy, law, social work, youth work, neuroscience and anthropology.

This dissertation examines the political feasibility of an individual, universal and unconditiona... more This dissertation examines the political feasibility of an individual, universal and unconditional basic income, a policy that radically departs from the mainstream means-tested and work-dependent perspective on income maintenance in the traditional welfare state. The basic income idea has gained considerable traction in both policy and scholarly communities, but its politics remains little understood. Scholarly attention in recent decades has focused largely on the ethics and economics of basic income, with marginal effort spent on political analysis. In addition, existing political studies are predominantly focused on descriptive case studies with only a few engaging in analytical examination of the role between design, implementation and politics.

This dissertation engages in a political analysis of the basic income proposal by reviewing both extant descriptive country studies and the rapidly growing scholarly literature on basic income. Since basic income in its fully developed version is nowhere implemented at this moment, robust empirical evidence is scant. Instead, this study proceeds by systematically applying established policy theories and evidence from analogous schemes (such as Alaska, Brazil or Iran) to the basic income proposal. The results of this study are presented in six articles, published in peer-reviewed political science and policy journals.

The main contribution of this dissertation is twofold. First, whereas the orthodox view suggests basic income advocates face an uphill battle against political actors and a general public that is broadly skeptical about giving “money for nothing”, I argue that there exists a second critical political frontline. A widespread tendency to think about basic income as a general idea rather than a set of specific policy proposals obscures the extent to which key design dimensions produce internal disagreement and division between basic income supporters. This internal division has a major impact on the political stability of a broad enacting basic income coalition.

Second, this dissertation argues that the internal tensions inherent in basic income design become salient once we consider basic income implementation. In contrast to the bulk of basic income research which eschews administrative analysis, this study adopts a public administration perspective and identifies a range of key implementation challenges that need to be carefully resolved for basic income to become a practical policy proposal. Furthermore, I demonstrate that these administrative challenges are decidedly political in nature, reinforcing the potential for persistent internal disagreement among basic income advocates.

The whole document is available for downloading at http://tampub.uta.fi/handle/10024/98162.

Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research presents a compilation of six decades of basi... more Basic Income: An Anthology of Contemporary Research presents a compilation of six decades of basic income literature. It includes the most influential empirical research and theoretical arguments on all aspects of the Basic Income proposal.

* Includes six decades of the most influential literature on Basic Income
* Includes unpublished and hard-to-find articles
* The first major compendium on one of the most innovative political reform proposals of our age
* Explores multidisciplinary views of Basic Income, with philosophical, economic, political, and sociological views
* Features contributions from key and well-known philosophers and economists, including Atkinson, Simon, Friedman, Fromm, Gorz, Offe, Rawls, Pettit, Van Parijs, and more
* Presents the best theoretical and empirical arguments for and against Basic Income

This volume brings together a range of theoretical responses to issues in Irish politics. Its org... more This volume brings together a range of theoretical responses to issues in Irish politics. Its organising ideas: recognition, equality, and democracy set the terms of political debate within both jurisdictions. For some, there are significant tensions between the grammar of recognition, concerned with esteem, respect and the symbolic aspects of social life, and the logic of equality, which is primarily concerned with the distribution of material resources and formal opportunities, while for others, tensions are produced rather by certain interpretations of these ideas while alternative readings may, by contrast, serve as the basis for a systematic account of social and political inequality. The essays in this collection will explore these interconnections with reference to the politics of Northern Ireland and the Republic. The Republic has gone through a period in which its constitution was the focus for a liberal politics aimed at securing personal autonomy, while Northern Ireland’s political landscape has been shaped by the problem of securing political autonomy and democratic legitimacy. While the papers address key questions facing each particular polity, the issues themselves have resonances for politics on each side of the border.

Content:

Introduction: Theorising Politics
Cillian McBride, Jurgen De Wispelaere & Shane O'Neill

Critical Theory and Ethno‐National Conflict: Assessing Northern Ireland’s Peace Process as a Model of Conflict Resolution
Shane O'Neill

Illegal in Ireland, Irish Illegals: Diaspora Nation as Racial State
Ronit Lentin

Democratic Autonomy, Women’s Interests and Institutional Context
Ian O'Flynn

Comprehensive Liberalism and Civic Education in the Republic of Ireland
Graham Finlay

The Battle(s) over Children's Rights in the Irish Constitution
Aoife Nolan

Disability Rights in Ireland: Chronicle of a Missed Opportunity
Jurgen De Wispelaere & Judy Walsh

How to Think About Marriage: Autonomy, Equality, Recognition
Peter Morriss

The Regulation of Public Space in Northern Ireland
Ciarán O'Kelly & Dominic Bryan

Identity, Unity, and the Limits of Democracy
Cillian McBride

The Ethics of Stakeholding brings together leading academics in the fields of political philosoph... more The Ethics of Stakeholding brings together leading academics in the fields of political philosophy and social policy to engage with one of the most exciting new paradigms in social policy. Stakeholder policies have been hailed by academics and policy-makers as one of the most promising tools for combating poverty, unemployment and inequality in modern welfare states. This collection offers a comprehensive overview of stakeholding and critically explores the ethical foundations of the stakeholder society. Keith Dowding, Jurgen De Wispelaere and Stuart White offer a comprehensive introduction to the ideas underlying stakeholding and explaining the modern debates. The contributors, including some of the leading worldwide proponents in the field, provide arguments for and against the specific types of stakeholding - capital grants versus universal basic income - and critically explore the ethical foundations of the stakeholder society.

Content:

Stakeholding - Towards a New Social Paradigm?
K.Dowding; J.De Wispelaere & S.White

A Capital Idea: Helping the Young Help Themselves
J.Le Grand & D.Nissan

Stakeholding and Individual Ownership Accounts
G.Kelly, A.Gamble & W.Paxton

Sneaking up on Stakeholding
R.E.Goodin

Freedom, Reciprocity, and Time-Limited Citizen's Income
S.White

The Stake and Exploitation
G.Van Donselaar

The Stake: An Egalitarian Proposal?
C.Fabre

Freedom and Democratization:
Why Basic Income is to be Preferred over Basic Capital
C.Pateman

Assessing the Unconditional Stake
R.Van der Veen

Radical Liberalism
B.Ackerman

Policy Network, 2020

In this short commentary we want to argue that the pandemic is opening up a policy window for the... more In this short commentary we want to argue that the pandemic is opening up a policy window for the introduction of a basic income. Even more stronger, we want to argue that the current policy window to institute at least a temporary variant of a basic income, aimed at establishing an income floor for those most affected by the pandemic, constitutes a unique moment in the history of basic income. What makes this window so unique is the co-existence of three conditions that have never occurred simultaneously in recent social history.

Green European Journal, 2020

As we think about building societies that can be ready for pandemics and resilient to shocks, bas... more As we think about building societies that can be ready for pandemics and resilient to shocks, basic income needs to be part of the picture. The insecurity and hardship caused by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis have prompted calls for an emergency basic income. The proposal would be a vital line of support for people in many different situations: out of work, reduced hours, or at-risk working in unsafe conditions. While it is unlikely in the immediate future to join the support schemes announced by governments, the argument for a permanent, universal basic income grows stronger.

Social Europe / IPR Blog, 2018

After a promising start, the Finnish Government's refusal to extend or expand the basic income ex... more After a promising start, the Finnish Government's refusal to extend or expand the basic income experiment amounts to one more disappointment among those closely watching how the experiment is progressing. So, what went wrong? What explains why the basic income window of opportunity seems to have shut down?

Toronto Star, 4 Sept, 2018, 2018

In Europe we are faced with the unique situation that two countries started down the road of pilo... more In Europe we are faced with the unique situation that two countries started down the road of piloting a basic income experiment. In this blog post I discuss three reasons why both projects should engage in close collaboration and why we should adopt a comparative approach to studying what happens in Finland and the Netherlands.

BINews, Jun 6, 2016

An OpEd on the Swiss Basic Income Referendum, first published in Basic Income Earth Network, and ... more An OpEd on the Swiss Basic Income Referendum, first published in Basic Income Earth Network, and subsequently re-posted in OpenDemocracy, OxPol, and Alusta!

Having a Basic Income Day to rally everyone around the world together for the cause is a great id... more Having a Basic Income Day to rally everyone around the world together for the cause is a great idea, but opting for May Day is a serious mistake. This short opinion piece explains why.

The Winnipeg Free Press, Feb 6, 2015

Op-ed for The Winnipeg Free Press, with Sid Frankel

Britisch Medical Journal, 2012

Irish Political Studies, 2007