The Economic, Cultural, and Philosophical Effects of Universal Basic Income
Keywords:
Universal Basic Income, UBI, Economics, Philosophy, Cultural, Analysis, VoS Viewer
Abstract
Universal basic income (UBI) has emerged as one of the primary concepts in modern discussions on how modern society should deal with the increasing economic inequality, precarity, and social shocks associated with environmental degradation and digital technologies. The paper discusses the economic, cultural, and philosophical implications of UBI by reviewing journal articles that were published in the late 1980s to 2025 and that fell within the domains of economics, political theory, sociology, health ethics, environmental studies, social work, and technology governance. The study identifies a number of recurring clusters of argument using co-authorship networks, country collaborations, keyword co-occurrence, and citation patterns, which are economic and redistributive models of UBI; justice-based and citizenship-based accounts of social rights and freedom; and work that connects UBI to environmental governance, health-care rationing, and technological change, especially artificial intelligence and the digital economy. In these strands, UBI is either formulated as an anti-poverty tool or as a tool to decentralize the bargaining power, value unpaid and precarious work, and reclaim social rights, with strong critiques of it authorizing cuts in the social services and recreating existing hierarchies being exercised where it is applied under neoliberal (rather than resource-sustaining) forms of governance. On the whole, the discussion shows there is an institutional hinge between UBI as redistributive material, cultural recognition, and philosophic account of justice and human flourishing; and its real impacts on a particular welfare system are determined by the nature of its ecological environment and technological systems of operation
References
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Bidadanure, J. (2019). The Political Theory of Universal Basic Income. Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 481–501. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV-POLISCI-050317-070954
Celentano, D. (2020). Work Justice Beyond Redistribution and Recognition.
Choi, G., Heo, S., & Lee, J. (2016). Assessment of environmental injustice in Korea using synthetic air quality index and multiple indicators of socioeconomic status: A cross-sectional study. Journal of The Air & Waste Management Association, 66(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2015.1107657
de Lange, E., Shimin Sze, J., Allan, J., Atkinson, S. C., Booth, H., Fletcher, M., Khanyari, M., & Saif, O. (2023). A global conservation basic income to safeguard biodiversity.
de Souza, T. M. (2024). The Unconditional Basic Income Proposal as a Means to Promote Ecological and Socioeconomic Justice. Brazilian Political Science Review (Online), 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-3821202500010002
Degrees of Unmet Needs in the “Superfluous Income” Criterion on JSTOR. (2026). Jstor.org. https://doi.org/10.2307/29769920
Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1995). The wealth of nations revisited: Income and quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 36(3), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078817
Fletcher, R., & Büscher, B. (2020). Conservation basic income: A non-market mechanism to support convivial conservation. Biological Conservation, 244, 108520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108520
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Fouksman, E., & Klein, E. (2019). Radical transformation or technological intervention? Two paths for universal basic income. World Development, 122, 492–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.06.013.
Gielens, E., Roosma, F., & Achterberg, P. (2024). Dimensions of controversy: Investigating the structure of public support for universal basic income in the Netherlands. International Journal of Social Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12607
Goodhart, M. (2007). “None So Poor That He Is Compelled to Sell Himself”: Democracy, Subsistence, and Basic Income. Cambridge University Press EBooks, 94–114. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511511257.005
Grimalda, G., Moene, K., Filgueira, F., Fleurbaey, M., Gibson, K., Graham, C., … Trannoy, A. (2018). Social Justice, Well-Being, and Economic Organization*. In International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) (Ed.), Rethinking Society for the 21st Century: Report of the International Panel on Social Progress (pp. 313–356). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hamilton, L., & Martin-West, S. (2019). Universal Basic Income, Poverty, and Social Justice: A Moral and Economic Imperative for Social Workers. Social Work, 64(4), 321–328. https://doi.org/10.1093/SW/SWZ028
Hanna, R., & Olken, B. A. (2018). Universal basic incomes versus targeted transfers: Anti-poverty programs in developing countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(4), 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.4.201
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Hutchinson, F., & Burkitt, B. (1997). An economic silence: Women and social credit. Women S Studies International Forum, 20(2), 321–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-5395(97)00004-6
Kwan, C. (2021). Toward an inclusive digital economy for all: Perspectives from an intersectional feminist social work lens. International Social Work, 002087282110095. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211009579
Liu, G. G., Zhao, Z., Cai, R., Yamada, T., & Yamada, T. (2002). Equity in health care access to: Assessing the urban health insurance reform in China. Social Science & Medicine, 55(10), 1779-1794. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00306-9
Löffler, V. (2021). Questioning the feasibility and justice of basic income accounting for migration. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 20(3), 273–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594x211032394
Maitreesh Ghatak, & François Maniquet. (2019). Universal Basic Income: Some Theoretical Aspects. Annual Review of Economics, 11(1), 895–928. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030220
Major, A. (2016). Affording Utopia: The Economic Viability of “A Capitalist Road to Communism.” Basic Income Studies, 11(2), 75–95. https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2015-0023
Menzel, P. T. (2003). How Compatible Are Liberty and Equality in Structuring a Health Care System? The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy a Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine, 28(3), 281–306. https://doi.org/10.1076/jmep.28.3.281.14585
Misztal, P. (2018). Universal basic income. Theory and practice. 19(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.7494/MANAGE.2018.19.1.103
Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01115-7
Nelson, R. M., & Drought, T. (1992). Justice and the moral acceptability of rationing medical care: the Oregon experiment. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 17(1), 97–117. https://doi.org/10.1093/JMP/17.1.97
Pisani, G. (2022). A justification of basic income beyond a theory of justice. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 12(4), 737–761. https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1265
Roemer M. I. (1988). Judging doctor supply--market or health criteria?. World health forum, 9(4), 547–554.
Santoni de Sio, F., Almeida, T., & van den Hoven, J. (2024). The Future of Work: Freedom, Justice and Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2021.2008204
Santoni de Sio, F., Almeida, T., & van den Hoven, J. (n.d.). The Future of Work: Freedom, Justice and Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2021.2008204
Sewpaul, V. (2005). A STRUCTURAL SOCIAL JUSTICE APPROACH TO FAMILY POLICY: A CRITIQUE OF THE DRAFT SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILY POLICY. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.15270/41-4-312
Sisler, A. (2014). Basic Income, Eco-logical Ethics, and Interdependent Well-Being. ETHICS in PROGRESS, 5(2), 151–169. https://doi.org/10.14746/eip.2014.2.11
Suleymanov, M., Salamova, A. E., & Magomadova, E. (n.d.). The problem of inequality in the context of sustainable development. E3S Web of Conferences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202345101018
Whitehead, L. (2009, January 1). Citizen insecurity and democracy: Reflections on a paradoxical configuration. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290589570_Citizen_insecurity_and_democracy_Reflections_on_a_paradoxical_configuration
Wijngaarde, I., Jebamalai Vinanchiarachi, & Readman, J. (2021). Universal Basic Income (UBI) for Reducing Inequalities and Increasing Socio-Economic Inclusion: A Proposal for a New Sustained Policy Perspective. 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56227-4_6
Zelleke, A. (2011). Wages for Housework: The Marxist-Feminist Case for Basic Income. Política Y Sociedad, 59(2), e78022. https://doi.org/10.5209/poso.78022
Zimmermann, K., Boljka, U., Rakar, T., & Filipovič Hrast, M. (2020). The social legitimacy of the universal basic income from a social justice perspective: a comparative analysis of Germany and Slovenia. 36(3), 301–331. https://doi.org/10.1017/ICS.2020.29
Anyangwe, S. C. E., Mtonga, C., & Chirwa, B. (2006). Health Inequities, Environmental Insecurity and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case Study of Zambia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 3(3), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH2006030026
Bellamy, R., & Lacey, J. (2018). Balancing the rights and duties of European and national citizens: a demoicratic approach. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(10), 1403–1421. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2018.1488885
Bidadanure, J. (2019). The Political Theory of Universal Basic Income. Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 481–501. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV-POLISCI-050317-070954
Celentano, D. (2020). Work Justice Beyond Redistribution and Recognition.
Choi, G., Heo, S., & Lee, J. (2016). Assessment of environmental injustice in Korea using synthetic air quality index and multiple indicators of socioeconomic status: A cross-sectional study. Journal of The Air & Waste Management Association, 66(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2015.1107657
de Lange, E., Shimin Sze, J., Allan, J., Atkinson, S. C., Booth, H., Fletcher, M., Khanyari, M., & Saif, O. (2023). A global conservation basic income to safeguard biodiversity.
de Souza, T. M. (2024). The Unconditional Basic Income Proposal as a Means to Promote Ecological and Socioeconomic Justice. Brazilian Political Science Review (Online), 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-3821202500010002
Degrees of Unmet Needs in the “Superfluous Income” Criterion on JSTOR. (2026). Jstor.org. https://doi.org/10.2307/29769920
Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1995). The wealth of nations revisited: Income and quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 36(3), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078817
Fletcher, R., & Büscher, B. (2020). Conservation basic income: A non-market mechanism to support convivial conservation. Biological Conservation, 244, 108520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108520
Fletcher, R., de Lange, E., Felandro, I., Khanyari, M., Saif, O., Sze, J., & West, B. (2025). Cash for conservation? Integrating basic income support into biodiversity and climate finance. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 75, 101554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2025.101554
Fouksman, E., & Klein, E. (2019). Radical transformation or technological intervention? Two paths for universal basic income. World Development, 122, 492–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.06.013.
Gielens, E., Roosma, F., & Achterberg, P. (2024). Dimensions of controversy: Investigating the structure of public support for universal basic income in the Netherlands. International Journal of Social Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12607
Goodhart, M. (2007). “None So Poor That He Is Compelled to Sell Himself”: Democracy, Subsistence, and Basic Income. Cambridge University Press EBooks, 94–114. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511511257.005
Grimalda, G., Moene, K., Filgueira, F., Fleurbaey, M., Gibson, K., Graham, C., … Trannoy, A. (2018). Social Justice, Well-Being, and Economic Organization*. In International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) (Ed.), Rethinking Society for the 21st Century: Report of the International Panel on Social Progress (pp. 313–356). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hamilton, L., & Martin-West, S. (2019). Universal Basic Income, Poverty, and Social Justice: A Moral and Economic Imperative for Social Workers. Social Work, 64(4), 321–328. https://doi.org/10.1093/SW/SWZ028
Hanna, R., & Olken, B. A. (2018). Universal basic incomes versus targeted transfers: Anti-poverty programs in developing countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(4), 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.4.201
Howard, M. (2015). https://www.analyse-und-kritik.net/Dateien/5a7987cac33a9_howard.pdf
Hoynes, H. W., & Rothstein, J. (2019). Universal Basic Income in the US and Advanced Countries. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w25538/w25538.pdf
Hutchinson, F., & Burkitt, B. (1997). An economic silence: Women and social credit. Women S Studies International Forum, 20(2), 321–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-5395(97)00004-6
Kwan, C. (2021). Toward an inclusive digital economy for all: Perspectives from an intersectional feminist social work lens. International Social Work, 002087282110095. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211009579
Liu, G. G., Zhao, Z., Cai, R., Yamada, T., & Yamada, T. (2002). Equity in health care access to: Assessing the urban health insurance reform in China. Social Science & Medicine, 55(10), 1779-1794. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00306-9
Löffler, V. (2021). Questioning the feasibility and justice of basic income accounting for migration. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 20(3), 273–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594x211032394
Maitreesh Ghatak, & François Maniquet. (2019). Universal Basic Income: Some Theoretical Aspects. Annual Review of Economics, 11(1), 895–928. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030220
Major, A. (2016). Affording Utopia: The Economic Viability of “A Capitalist Road to Communism.” Basic Income Studies, 11(2), 75–95. https://doi.org/10.1515/bis-2015-0023
Menzel, P. T. (2003). How Compatible Are Liberty and Equality in Structuring a Health Care System? The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy a Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine, 28(3), 281–306. https://doi.org/10.1076/jmep.28.3.281.14585
Misztal, P. (2018). Universal basic income. Theory and practice. 19(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.7494/MANAGE.2018.19.1.103
Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01115-7
Nelson, R. M., & Drought, T. (1992). Justice and the moral acceptability of rationing medical care: the Oregon experiment. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 17(1), 97–117. https://doi.org/10.1093/JMP/17.1.97
Pisani, G. (2022). A justification of basic income beyond a theory of justice. Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 12(4), 737–761. https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1265
Roemer M. I. (1988). Judging doctor supply--market or health criteria?. World health forum, 9(4), 547–554.
Santoni de Sio, F., Almeida, T., & van den Hoven, J. (2024). The Future of Work: Freedom, Justice and Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2021.2008204
Santoni de Sio, F., Almeida, T., & van den Hoven, J. (n.d.). The Future of Work: Freedom, Justice and Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2021.2008204
Sewpaul, V. (2005). A STRUCTURAL SOCIAL JUSTICE APPROACH TO FAMILY POLICY: A CRITIQUE OF THE DRAFT SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILY POLICY. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.15270/41-4-312
Sisler, A. (2014). Basic Income, Eco-logical Ethics, and Interdependent Well-Being. ETHICS in PROGRESS, 5(2), 151–169. https://doi.org/10.14746/eip.2014.2.11
Suleymanov, M., Salamova, A. E., & Magomadova, E. (n.d.). The problem of inequality in the context of sustainable development. E3S Web of Conferences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202345101018
Whitehead, L. (2009, January 1). Citizen insecurity and democracy: Reflections on a paradoxical configuration. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290589570_Citizen_insecurity_and_democracy_Reflections_on_a_paradoxical_configuration
Wijngaarde, I., Jebamalai Vinanchiarachi, & Readman, J. (2021). Universal Basic Income (UBI) for Reducing Inequalities and Increasing Socio-Economic Inclusion: A Proposal for a New Sustained Policy Perspective. 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56227-4_6
Zelleke, A. (2011). Wages for Housework: The Marxist-Feminist Case for Basic Income. Política Y Sociedad, 59(2), e78022. https://doi.org/10.5209/poso.78022
Zimmermann, K., Boljka, U., Rakar, T., & Filipovič Hrast, M. (2020). The social legitimacy of the universal basic income from a social justice perspective: a comparative analysis of Germany and Slovenia. 36(3), 301–331. https://doi.org/10.1017/ICS.2020.29
Published
2026-01-21
How to Cite
Narra, P. (2026). The Economic, Cultural, and Philosophical Effects of Universal Basic Income. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 9(2), 425-448. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v9i2.3263
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