Mincome (Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment)
Mincome, formally the Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment (MBAIE), was a negative income tax / guaranteed annual income field experiment jointly funded by the Government of Canada and the Government of Manitoba from 1974 to 1979. It combined a randomized controlled trial of low-income households in Winnipeg and dispersed rural Manitoba communities with a 'saturation site' in the town of Dauphin, where nearly all low-income residents were eligible to enroll. Guarantee levels for a family of four ranged from $3,800 to $5,800 CAD per year depending on the assigned plan, reduced by 35 to 75 cents for every dollar of earned income. The project was cancelled in 1979 for cost reasons before any official final report was produced, but later analysis (notably by economist Evelyn Forget) found reduced hospitalizations, fewer mental-health-related consultations, and higher high-school completion rates in Dauphin, alongside only modest reductions in labour supply overall.
Negative Income Tax, Guaranteed Annual Income, Historical Experiment, Saturation Site, Randomized Controlled Trial, Evelyn Forget
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Government of Canada and Government of Manitoba (joint federal-provincial project; data later archived by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Manitoba)
- City
- Winnipeg
- State / Province
- Manitoba
- Country
- Canada
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Inactive
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 1,300
- Funding type
- Government, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- CAD
- Total Amount
- 14,400 CAD (≈ $10,226.18)
- Avg. Per Month
- 240 CAD (≈ $170.44)
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 60 months
- Distribution Type
- Mailed cheque
- Benefit details
Payments were issued monthly by cheque, calculated using a negative income tax formula: a guaranteed minimum income for the household's size, reduced by a fixed percentage of any earned income. In Winnipeg, three guarantee/tax-rate combinations were tested for a family of four ($3,800 CAD at 35%, $4,800 CAD at 50%, $5,800 CAD at 75%); Dauphin's saturation site used a single plan ($4,800 CAD guarantee, 50% reduction rate). Households reported income monthly and completed quarterly surveys as a condition of enrollment. Participants could join or leave the program voluntarily and were not required to prove need or justify how funds were spent, unlike conventional welfare.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility was based on household income falling below the guarantee/breakeven level of the assigned plan (breakeven points ranged roughly $7,700-$10,900 CAD/year depending on site and plan). In Winnipeg and the rural dispersed (control) sites, eligible low-income households were selected at random from administrative records to be offered treatment or control status. In Dauphin, the saturation site, virtually any resident aged 18 or older whose household income was low enough could volunteer to apply, regardless of employment or family status. There was no disability, categorical-welfare, or work-history requirement beyond the income test.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $10,900
Geography
- Countries covered
- Canada
- Cities covered
- Winnipeg, Dauphin
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Participants were required to complete an initial baseline interview, quarterly surveys (approximately 11 rounds) tracking labour-market and household data, and monthly income reports as a condition of continued enrollment; participation was otherwise voluntary and could be discontinued at any time.
Application Process
- How to apply
In Winnipeg and the rural dispersed sites, low-income households were identified from administrative/welfare records and invited to enroll (assigned randomly to a treatment plan or the control group); households could decline. In Dauphin (the saturation site), any qualifying low-income resident could apply directly through the local Mincome project office set up in the town.
- Selection process
Random assignment to one of several negative-income-tax payment plans or to a control group for the Winnipeg and rural dispersed samples; near-universal self-selected enrollment of eligible low-income households/individuals in the Dauphin saturation site.
