Abstract
This article is concerned with the recent (2017–2018) basic income experiment in Finland. This experiment attracted global attention, not least because of its break from the conditionalities and sanctions associated with social security payments in workfare states. This article stresses, however, that it is critical to understand how the Finnish basic income experiment was part of a broader programme of government-led reform in Finland. As well as establishing the experiment as a preferred mode of policymaking, this programme contained a range of strategies aimed at restructuring labour supply. The article shows how the basic income experiment should be understood as a behavioural intervention designed to enhance the wellbeing of unemployed populations at a time when wellbeing is emerging as a value-producing capacity.
Highlights
This article is concerned with basic income (BI) and especially with the recent (2017–2018) BI experiment in Finland
By paying attention to the political and economic context, this article has highlighted how the recent BI experiment in Finland should be understood as an experiment in the management and restructuring of labour supply
This article suggests, that the BI experiment should be seen as a tool of labour market activation precisely because of its aim to enhance wellbeing
Summary
This article is concerned with basic income (BI) and especially with the recent (2017–2018) BI experiment in Finland. This article shows that in aiming to enhance the wellbeing of unemployed workers, the experiment formed part of a broader strategy of the restructuring of labour supply on the part of the Finnish government.
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