Thread by @scottsantens

Well this is a fascinating confounding variable to find in the full report of Finland's #BasicIncome experiment. Apparently the treatment group was not equal to the control group and in fact received a total of $1898 less, and yet they were still happier!

julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/hand…

Why this occurred is also fascinating. It appears that adults with kids were forced to apply for standard benefits to receive additional benefits for their kids, meaning that the majority of the people in the treatment group didn't even benefit from less hoops to jump through!

Additionally, the treatment group received less overall benefits because upon accepting employment, and because their basic income was counted towards qualifying for other social assistance benefits, they didn't receive those other benefits and yet again, they were still happier!

I think the fact that there's a virtual equivalence as far as employment rates go, despite a 17% reduction in overall benefits paid out, in combination with 16% increase in people feeling they have good health, and a 32% reduction in stress, shows that $1 in UBI > $1 in welfare.

Additionally, the words "volunteer" and "unpaid" appear zero times in the report. Researchers in Finland don't appear to have attempted to measure the degree to which people provided basic income may pursue unpaid work vs job opportunities at greater rates than the control group.

Another interesting detail from the report is how challenging it is to even define employment, especially in today's labor market. Consider "0-hours" employment where you have no idea how many hours you'll work, if any. What's the difference between being unemployed? A job title.

This tidbit is interesting too. Finland spent 96 euros less per person on sickness benefits, because people with basic income had no need to claim sickness benefits. This isn't to say that people were less sick, they just didn't have to deal with bureaucratic bullshit when sick.

Those provided with existing benefits in Finland rate their satisfaction with life on a scale of 0 to 10 as a 6.76. Those provided with 17% less benefits in the form of basic income rate their life satisfaction as a 7.32.

*Life is more worth living with UBI even with less help.*

Trust overall was enhanced. Among the unemployed in Finland, trust in others is lower than the population as a whole, but being provided #BasicIncome instead of standard unemployment benefits appears to have increased trust in other people, the legal system, and even politicians.

58% of those provided basic income were strongly confident in their futures, compared to 46% provided normal benefits.

42% were strongly confident in their financial situation, compared to 30%.

29% were strongly confident in their ability to influence society, compared to 22%.

55% of those provided basic income considered their physical and mental health to be good or very good, compared to 46% provided standard unemployment benefits. Additionally, 67% of the basic income group felt they could concentrate well or very well, compared to 56% on benefits.

A loss of interest in things once considered enjoyable is a key sign of the onset of depression. Among those provided basic income, only 25% felt that way during the previous year, compared to 34% of those provided traditional unemployment benefits (and a higher amount mind you).

It could be a result of the basic income, or it could just be a result of sample size variation, it cannot be statistically determined which, but whatever the reason, 69% of part-time workers in the basic income group wanted to find full-time jobs instead, vs 58% in the control.

Okay, this is a big one IMO, and should hit home for a lot of people. 39% of those receiving basic income felt they were barely getting by or finding it difficult to make ends meet, compared to 49% of those in the control group.

*Basic income greatly reduced economic insecurity*

Because of its predictability and lack of bureaucracy, basic income also greatly reduced stress. 55% of the basic income group (despite receiving a 17% smaller income boost) felt little to no stress at all, compared to only 46% of those provided traditional unemployment benefits.

Being provided basic income really shifted attitudes about it. Whereas 42% of unemployed Finns strongly agree that UBI would make it easier to accept job offers, 68% of basic income recipients do. They also now believe starting a business is easier & that Finland should adopt it.

Okay, I finally finished reading and analyzing the entirety of the report and this thread will now end. If you read this entire thread, you now have a pretty clear picture of the results and you're far better off than anyone who hasn't read the report and has only read summaries.

Next, I will write this up into my own article to add some more sanity into the shit that's already out there and I expect to be out there in even larger piles soon. Please use what you've learned here to help inform the online discussions you see. Misinformation will be rampant.

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