Universal Basic Income Pilot UBI-Scale Deep Dive: Global Experimental Data on UBI in the AI Era
World Bank releases first comprehensive report on global UBI pilot UBI-Scale, aggregating experimental data from 12 countries, finding UBI significantly reduces poverty with limited impact on labor supply.
On January 16, 2030, the World Bank released the first comprehensive report on the global universal basic income pilot UBI-Scale. The report aggregates data from 12 countries conducting large-scale UBI experiments between 2027 and 2029, involving over 500,000 participants.
The report's three core findings: First, UBI significantly reduced poverty — poverty rates fell by 31% on average and food insecurity by 42%. Second, UBI's impact on labor supply was far less than expected — participants' average working hours decreased by just 4%, with reduced time mainly going to education, childcare and entrepreneurship. Third, participants' mental health indicators improved significantly, with anxiety and depression scores falling 25%.
The World Bank's chief economist said UBI-Scale data shows universal basic income is not a "paying people to be lazy" policy but an effective social safety net. In the context of accelerating AI automation, UBI may be a critical tool for addressing structural employment changes.
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