ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of both the theoretical debates and the evidence base to date, with attention to both the interdisciplinary and cross-national nature of this rich and growing literature. A Citizens Basic Income (CBI) can be defined as an income paid by a political community to all its members on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. Political philosophers have long discussed whether and how a CBI could contribute to the ideals of a good society. In the absence of much real-world evidence on the effects of a CBI, many scholars have turned to evidence provided by a few experiments and pilot programmes of a basic income as well as related alternatives, such as the Negative Income Tax (NIT). More recently there have been pilots in developing countries which have aimed to test the effectiveness of unconditional cash transfers on alleviating poverty and other social goals.
