Neuer UN-Bericht fordert UBI | Nachrichten zum Grundeinkommen

From the article:
Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, sent me his most recent report (attached). As you will see, §§ 54-57 contain a strong plea for UBI.

From the report:
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and
human rights, Olivier De Schutter
The burnout economy: poverty and mental health

Summary
The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter,
identifies the mechanisms that expose people in poverty to a heightened risk of mental health
conditions, and he examines how, despite the extraordinary resilience of many people in
poverty, mental ill-health in turn can perpetuate poverty. He calls on States to move from a
biomedical approach to mental health, which treats it as a problem of the individual, to an
approach that addresses its social determinants: in order to combat the global tide of
depression and anxiety, more should be done to fight poverty and inequality, and to address
economic insecurity.
In addition to increasing investments in mental healthcare, he identifies addressing the
psychosocial risks caused by the casualization of labour, strengthening social protection by
providing an unconditional basic income, destigmatizing mental health conditions, and
facilitating access to green spaces allowing to reconnect to nature, as priority interventions.
The vicious cycles connecting poverty to mental health problems are the price we pay for the
current focus on stimulating competition and performance, in a society obsessed with
increasing total economic output: these cycles can be broken, provided we put well-being
above the endless quest for economic growth.

54-57 Providing an unconditional basic income

54. Economic shocks are a major cause of depression and economic insecurity is a major
cause of anxiety. In order to reduce both, social protection could be strengthened in order to
make it more universal and to remove the conditionalities that exercise a permanent pressure
on beneficiaries. The provision to low-income individuals in Oregon in 2008 of a largely free
health insurance (worth US$ 550-750 per year) was shown to reduce rates of depression by
about a quarter within a few months. This randomized control trial shows that the main
contribution of social protection schemes to preventing mental health challenges is in the
sense of security they provide, rather than in the increased levels of income they provide.98
The provision of rights-based and unconditional schemes can thus create a sense of security
and entitlement, with significant positive mental health impacts.

55. This is why the Special Rapporteur recommends implementing social protection
schemes to the fullest extent possible, without excessive targeting, and without introducing
conditionalities that can discourage take-up and create the very insecurity such schemes are
meant to protect from. Unconditional basic incomes schemes provide the kind of security
that can prevent mental health conditions linked to economic uncertainty. In an unconditional
cash transfer experiment conducted in Malawi in 2008-2009, schoolgirls were around 38
percent less likely to suffer psychological distress than the control group, while the same figure was 17 percent if the cash transfers offers were made conditional on regular school
attendance. Researchers analysing the survey results commented that „when the transfers
become an important source of income for the entire family and depend on [the beneficiary
schoolgirl’s actions], they might turn into too heavy a burden for her to shoulder and become
detrimental to her mental health“.99 The MINCOME experiment, a Canadian guaranteed
annual income field experiment carried out in the Manitoba province between 1974-
1979,showed a reduction of 8.5 percent in the hospitalisation rate of the treatment group
receiving a basic income relative to the control group for accidents and injuries and mental
health, as well as reduced reliance of the treatment group’s members on physicians,
especially for mental health. Even a modest guaranteed income, researchers concluded, can
lead to significant savings for the healthcare system.100 In Finland, 2,000 unemployed
individuals received an unconditional basic income of 560 Euros per month for two years
(2017-2018). The beneficiaries reported higher life satisfaction, better health, less mental
distress and depression, and stronger cognitive capabilities regarding memory, ability to learn
new things, and ability to concentrate than the control group not receiving a basic income.101

56. These conclusions were confirmed by a meta-study covering 27 studies of nine basic
income-like interventions providing unconditional payments to individuals or families, many
evaluated using randomised controlled trials or robust quasi-experimental methods. The
findings showed strong positive effects on mental health outcomes.102 Thus, unconditional
cash transfer schemes can significantly help to deal with the high burden of disease due to
common mental health challenges such as depression. These schemes (such as the Child
Support Grant in South Africa103) therefore fulfil an important preventive function, reducing
the costs of healthcare and the need for trained health staff and mental health treatment
facilities.

57. Unconditional basic income-like schemes also can help address the cognitive
bandwidth restrictions associated with scarcity. Conditionalities associated with cash transfer
schemes and excessive targeting based on means-testing result in complex eligibility rules
through which benefit recipients must maneuver under the threat of sanctions. Indeed, this is
one explanation for high rates of non-take-up in certain social protection schemes, including
minimum income schemes essential for people in poverty.104 In contrast, an unconditional
basic income ensures foreseeable income security and a regularity of payment which may
minimize the interference with daily concerns of recipients, thus improving their cognitive
abilities.105