Basic Income Experiment
The Basic Income Experiment was a two-year, nationwide pilot run by Kela, Finland's Social Insurance Institution, that paid an unconditional monthly income to a randomly selected sample of unemployed Finns. From January 2017 through December 2018, 2,000 participants aged 25-58 who had received a Kela unemployment benefit in November 2016 were paid a tax-exempt 560 euros per month regardless of other income or job-seeking activity. It was the world's first basic income trial that was nationwide, statutory, and based on a randomized, mandatory field experiment rather than voluntary sign-up. The program was authorized by the Finnish Government and administered through Kela, with research support from the VATT Institute for Economic Research and the University of Helsinki. A 2020 evaluation found small employment effects but improved perceived wellbeing, financial security, and mental health among recipients.
National government pilot, Randomized controlled trial, Unemployed, Unconditional, Europe's first national UBI trial
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Kela (Kansaneläkelaitos / Social Insurance Institution of Finland)
- City
- Helsinki
- State / Province
- Uusimaa
- Country
- Finland
Contact
- Phone
- +358 20 634 0200
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 2,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- EUR
- Total Amount
- 13,440 EUR (≈ $15,304.12)
- Avg. Per Month
- 560 EUR (≈ $637.67)
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit
- Benefit details
Recipients received 560 euros/month, paid automatically and tax-exempt, with no means test and no requirement to seek or accept work. Payments continued even if a recipient found employment or had other income. No application/claim process, since eligibility was determined entirely by random sampling of existing Kela unemployment-benefit records. Participation, once selected, was mandatory by law and could not be declined.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligible individuals were Finnish residents aged 25-58 already receiving a Kela unemployment benefit in November 2016. From this pool, 2,000 were randomly selected, while the remainder (roughly 173,000-175,000 people) served as an unselected control group continuing on standard unemployment benefits. No targeted demographic criteria beyond age and prior unemployment-benefit receipt.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 25
- Maximum age
- 58
Financial
- Currently receiving government benefits
- Required
- Employment status
- Unemployed
Geography
- Countries covered
- Finland
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Research was built into the program by law: Kela, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, VATT Institute for Economic Research, and University of Helsinki jointly designed and evaluated the experiment. Register-based employment/income data compiled for all 2,000 recipients and the control group as a mandatory part of the statutory trial. A supplementary telephone survey (23% response rate) and 81 in-depth interviews were conducted voluntarily near the end. Final results published 6 May 2020: small/inconclusive employment effects but improved self-reported wellbeing, trust, and financial security.
Application Process
- How to apply
There was no application process. Individuals could not volunteer or opt in; participation was determined entirely by the government's random sampling of Kela's unemployment-benefit register.
- Selection process
Kela randomly selected 2,000 people aged 25-58 who had received a Kela unemployment benefit in November 2016. Selection was compulsory once made - recipients could not decline participation, eliminating self-selection bias. A much larger unselected group (roughly 173,000-175,000 people) served as the control group.
