Overcoming Spin, Sensationalism, Misunderstanding, and the Streetlight Effect

Abstract

This chapter concludes with a discussion of how to work forward from the results of Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiments to the public discussion in ways that overcome communication barriers and reduce the problems associated with them. It argues that it is not enough to communicate the findings of experiments on their own terms, but results have to be presented with an understanding of the role they play in the political economy of the UBI discussion. Researchers must relate experimental findings to the most important questions in the evaluation of UBI, even if experimental findings make only a small contribution to the search for those answers.