Considerations for Basic Income as a COVID-19 Response
The School of Public Policy Publications, 2020
16 Pages Posted: 15 Jun 2020
Date Written: May 21, 2020
Abstract
When the federal government created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to help Canadians who had lost their jobs in the COVID-19 lockdown, it sparked renewed interest in the idea of a basic income. However, many policy questions need to be discussed and resolved in order to assess a basic income and compare it to alternative forms of social support. Careful and thorough consideration of these matters is vital in deciding whether a basic income should be implemented, and if so, how it should be done and indeed what form it should take.
Keywords: Basic Income, COVID-19, Policy Design, Policy Implementation
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