author:
juan carlos conesa[1] , bo li[2] , and qian li[3],[4]
[1]department of economics, stony brook university
[2]school of economics, peking university
[3]institute for advanced research, shanghai university of finance and economics
[4]key laboratory for mathematical economics (sufe), ministry of education, china
abstract
we provide a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of universal basic income (ubi), eval
uating different degrees of generosity and the fiscal alternatives to finance it. replacing existing
targeted transfers with a ubi of equal fiscal cost results in widespred welfare losses. in contrast,
a combination of generous ubi (at least $15,000 per household) with a switch to progressive
consumption taxation could be beneficial from the perspective of ex-ante expected welfare in
the long run. however, the quantitative analysis of the transitional dynamics reveals non-trivial
transitional costs for most current households.
keywords: incomplete market, heterogeneous agents, consumption tax, universal basic in
come, transitional dynamics
jel classification: e2 , d52, h21
download:
universal basic income and progressive consumption taxes.pdf