🔍 What the experiment tested
A randomized, two‑year Finnish basic income experiment (2017–2019) assigned a substantial group of unemployed adults to receive an unconditional basic income (BI). The central question: can a social policy reduce the link between low income and low turnout by changing how recipients experience the welfare state?
📊 How the evidence was gathered
- Linked individual‑level administrative registry records with survey data to measure actual voting behavior and attitudes.
- Analysis leverages random assignment to identify causal effects of receiving unconditional BI.
📈 Key findings on turnout
- Unconditional BI raised municipal election turnout by about 3 percentage points on average.
- Effects are much larger for marginal voters, with increases of roughly 6–8 percentage points among that subgroup.
- The turnout boost persisted into national elections after the experiment ended, indicating lasting effects beyond the payment period.
🧭 What explains the effect
- Evidence points to interpretive, bureaucratic effects tied to unconditionality: receiving BI altered recipients’ perceptions of government and their place in politics.
- Recipients showed higher levels of political trust and political efficacy, consistent with an interpretive mechanism rather than short‑term instrumental motives.
💡 Why this matters
- Results demonstrate a concrete policy‑feedback pathway: an unconditional cash policy can increase electoral participation among low‑income, unemployed citizens.
- Findings have implications for theories of voter turnout and policy feedback and suggest that the design features of BI (not just income support) shape political consequences.
- These results inform debates about BI policy design by highlighting political as well as economic effects.
