A Plea for the Use of Laboratory Experiments in Basic Income Research
Abstract
In recent years interest in conducting a European basic income experiment, along the lines of the famous NIT experiments in the US and Canada in the 1970s and 1980s, has grown considerably. In this short comment we caution against embarking on this route. We offer two reasons against the use of field experiments in basic income research, its vulnerability to political manipulation and its incapacity to offer real answers to the pressing questions that need to be addressed before a basic income scheme can be implemented. Instead, we suggest laboratory experiments carefully mimicking selective social situations might offer crucial insight in the operation of basic income schemes.Suggested Citation
José Antonio Noguera and Jurgen De Wispelaere. "A Plea for the Use of Laboratory Experiments in Basic Income Research" Basic Income Studies 1.2 (2006): 1-8.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/dewispelaere/6