13TH BRAGA MEETINGS ON ETHICS AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
15-16/June/2023
PANEL 4 - THE MORAL, ECONOMIC, ECOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL VALUE OF BASIC INCOME

CONVENORS: THIAGO SOUZA, CATARINA NEVES AND ROBERTO MERRILL
​All inquiries about the panel should be sent to [email protected]
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The discussants in this panel will include Stuart White (University of Oxford).

The idea of the Unconditional Basic Income (hereinafter UBI) has been the subject of discussions within the Academy of Ethics, Philosophy, Political Sciences, and Economics for decades. In recent years, the UBI debate seems to have been boosted by new challenges that the world has offered us, such as the economic crisis of 2008 and the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Basic Income theory draws several parallels between the obstacles faced by humankind today. Issues such as socioeconomic inequality, welfare crisis, mass unemployment, democratic inclusion, and even environmental sustainability are often discussed under the UBI scope.

Such an interest in UBI, has resulted in several tests and new policies around the world. We have the South Korean Gyeonggi case, the Maricá Citizen Basic Income, and the tests performed in Ontario (Canada), Stockton (US, California), Finland, and Barcelona (Spain) to name a few examples. Besides, many countries plan to put a UBI pilot to test.

To keep promoting the debate, this panel invites contributors to elaborate discussions concerning the Basic Income theory and its connection with problematics in the fields of Ethics, Politics, Sociology, and Economics. There are central issues for this panel, which aim for multidisciplinary debates that should stimulate UBI studies in various disciplines.

Therefore, questions that play a key role in this discussion are the following:
- How can a UBI project tell us more about the potential environmental impacts, and the rise of inequality, unemployment, and poverty around the world?
- Which social policies should be proposed in coordination with the UBI aiming for higher welfare levels and environmental stability?
- What are the ex-post consequences of a UBI policy, either in the short, medium or long-term perspectives?How would it affect educational, health, and political spectra, and how does it influence individual freedom? 
- How does one build political and economic conditions for a UBI policy to be approved and how do long-lasting projects impact governmental spending regarding public services?
- Would a Basic Income project be beneficial to Portugal when faced with the Portuguese socio-economic structure and challenges?​