In recent years, basic income – sometimes referred to as universal basic income, or, guaranteed annual income – has resurfaced as a mainstream policy proposal. Basic income, in its simplest form, is an unconditional cash transfer from government to individuals or families that provides more dignity to recipients when compared to existing social assistance programs.

There is a growing appetite in Canada to develop more effective poverty reduction strategies, and Ontario has recently taken the lead with a newly deployed Basic Income Pilot Project. This pilot, and others alike, are testing how recipients will use basic income, and whether such a policy would be an innovative replacement for the complicated, contentious, and costly systems currently in place.

The research question in this Major Research Project (MRP) investigates the potential behavioural differences between short-term basic income pilot projects, and permanent policies. With a permanent basic income yet to be implemented, an experimental method was developed to better understand these potential differences.

Using ‘Structured Scenario Interviews’, the research found significant differences in the ways participants allocated basic income across two hypothetical time-based scenarios: a one-year basic income pilot; and a permanent policy. This method can be used as a complementary tool to adjust policies in existing pilot projects, allowing research teams to better understand expected behaviours under shorter time horizons. The method is applicable to basic income pilot projects in any jurisdiction.