Overview
- Develops innovative framework measuring how existing systems approximate basic income principles
- Challenges assumptions about basic income & work incentive using time use data analysis across European welfare regime
- Provides empirical evidence on how institutional contexts mediate basic income's potential effects
Part of the book series: Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG)
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About this book
This book analyzes existing welfare regimes across Europe, offering an exploration into how basic income principles might influence job search behaviour. Drawing on time-use data and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, it challenges assumptions about work incentives and demonstrates that institutional contexts significantly mediate welfare effects. The analysis develops an innovative “ideal type” framework that measures how existing systems approximate basic income principles, unconditionality, universalism, and non-withdrawal of benefits. Chapters explore the complex relationships between welfare design and job search intensity, with a special focus on providing evidence as to whether conditionality increases job search or if certain configurations of accessibility and high participation tax rates decrease it. Comparing ten European countries and counterfactual examination of Finland and the UK, the book provides empirical grounding for debates often based on theoretical assumptions. The resulting text provides insights for designing context-appropriate strategies for basic income implementation that enhance income security while preserving individual autonomy.
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Simon Watkins is a UK-based researcher focusing on basic income, welfare policy, and labour markets. His work bridges theory with empirical analysis, using innovative methodological approaches to examine how institutional contexts shape welfare outcomes across European regimes. Simon holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Surrey.
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Basic Income, Work Incentives and Job Search Behaviour
Book Subtitle: Bridging Theory and Practice in European Contexts
Authors: Simon Watkins
Series Title: Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-99197-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-99196-7Published: 24 August 2025
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-99199-8Due: 07 September 2026
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-99197-4Published: 23 August 2025
Series ISSN: 2662-3803
Series E-ISSN: 2662-3811
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 202
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour
Topics: Economic Policy, Social Choice/Welfare Economics/Public Choice/Political Economy, Political Economy/Economic Systems