Public Values, Universal Basic Income and Health

Public Values, Universal Basic Income and Health: developing a mixed-methods study to elicit and deliberate public values for Universal Basic Income and comparator policies in relation to their impact on population health and health inequalities

Dates: March 2023 – February 2024

Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)

The overall aim of this mixed-methods development project is to design and test stated preference survey questions that ask the public how much they value Universal Basic Income (UBI) and other income-based policies that impact on health.

One way to reduce the health divide that exists in the UK is to make sure people have a decent income. A UBI that gives everyone in society a regular cash payment with no strings attached could help achieve this aim.

However, different income-based policies exist which could potentially act similarly, such as introducing a Minimum Income Guarantee, a Participation Income, a Real Living Wage, or increasing Universal Credit.

Different income-based policies also have different characteristics, for example, targeting the worst-off in society, giving payments to everyone, providing payments with no conditions or only if certain criteria are met. These different policies also cost different amounts of money to provide.

Currently missing from policy and media debates is information about what the public thinks about different income-based policies that impact health.

  • Identify a range of income-based policy options, covering a range of policy attributes, for valuation
  • Set out a valuation framework to guide the design and analysis of stated preference methods in this area
  • Design and pilot test stated preference methods to explore public values for UBI and alternative income-based policies.

The project will take place in Glasgow, Newcastle and online. Different methods will be utilised with different participants, including, literature reviewing, stakeholder interviews and piloting of stated preference survey questions. There will also be qualitative interviews - including think-aloud and semi-structured interviews - with members of the general public.

A general public panel will be formed and will meet four times online during the life of the project to inform the design, conduct and interpretation of this project and make recommendations for a future larger-scale study.

Project Lead: Dr Neil McHugh

Project Team: Professor Cam Donaldson, Professor Rachel Baker, Dr Ruth Lightbody, David Bomark, Professor Verity Watson (University of Aberdeen), Professor Clare Bambra (Newcastle University), and Dr Victoria McGowan (Newcastle University).