Redefining Social Safety Nets: Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Welfare Economics Training Course

Introduction

The global economic landscape is undergoing profound shifts driven by automation, technological advancements, and increasing precarity in labor markets, leading to renewed interest in innovative social protection mechanisms. Universal Basic Income (UBI), a regular, unconditional cash payment to all individuals, has emerged as a central topic in this debate. Its potential to address poverty, inequality, and the future of work demands a rigorous understanding of its economic foundations and implications within the broader framework of welfare economics.

This intensive training course is meticulously designed to equip participants with a comprehensive and practical understanding of Universal Basic Income and its relationship with core principles of welfare economics. From dissecting the theoretical underpinnings of social welfare and market failures to mastering the tools for analyzing UBI's impact on labor supply, consumption, and public finance, you will gain the expertise to critically evaluate this transformative policy. This empowers you to engage in informed policy discussions, analyze the feasibility of UBI implementation, and contribute to the design of equitable and efficient social safety nets for the 21st century.

Target Audience

  • Policymakers and government officials in ministries of finance, social welfare, labor, and planning.
  • Economists and researchers studying social protection, labor markets, and inequality.
  • Social protection practitioners and program managers.
  • Academics and graduate students (Master's and PhD) in economics, public policy, social work, or political science.
  • Staff of international development organizations and NGOs focused on poverty reduction and social justice.
  • Think tank researchers and policy advocates.
  • Journalists and communicators specializing in social policy.
  • Anyone interested in the future of work, automation, and social welfare reform.

Duration: 10 days

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the fundamental principles of welfare economics, including efficiency, equity, and market failures in social contexts.
  • Grasp the theoretical arguments for and against Universal Basic Income (UBI) and its historical context.
  • Analyze the potential economic impacts of UBI on labor supply, wages, consumption, and inflation.
  • Comprehend the various design options for UBI schemes (e.g., benefit levels, frequency, eligibility).
  • Evaluate the financial feasibility and potential funding mechanisms for large-scale UBI programs.
  • Develop practical skills in analyzing the social implications of UBI on poverty, inequality, health, and well-being.
  • Navigate the evidence from UBI pilot projects and experiments conducted worldwide.
  • Formulate evidence-based arguments and engage in constructive debates about the feasibility and desirability of UBI.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to Welfare Economics
  • Defining welfare economics: efficiency, equity, and social welfare functions
  • Pareto efficiency and Kaldor-Hicks criterion
  • Market failures and the role of government intervention (externalities, public goods, information asymmetry)
  • Social justice concepts: horizontal and vertical equity, equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcomes
  • Public goods and the provision of social safety nets
  1. Foundations of Universal Basic Income (UBI)
  • Defining UBI: universality, unconditionality, periodicity, individuality
  • Historical perspectives on basic income ideas (Thomas More, Thomas Paine, Milton Friedman)
  • Differentiating UBI from other social protection programs (e.g., minimum wage, means-tested benefits, negative income tax)
  • Rationales for UBI: poverty reduction, automation, health, dignity, administrative efficiency
  • Criticisms of UBI: cost, labor disincentives, inflation, moral hazard
  1. Economic Impacts of UBI: Labor Markets
  • Standard labor-leisure trade-off and UBI's effect on labor supply
  • Theoretical predictions vs. empirical evidence from UBI pilots on employment and work effort
  • Impact of UBI on wages, labor force participation, and job quality
  • UBI and the gig economy, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking
  • Addressing concerns about work disincentives and "free riders"
  1. Economic Impacts of UBI: Consumption and Macroeconomics
  • Effect of UBI on consumption patterns, savings, and aggregate demand
  • Potential inflationary pressures of UBI
  • Impact on local economies and small businesses
  • UBI and macroeconomic stability, business cycles
  • Potential for UBI to act as an automatic stabilizer during economic downturns
  1. Design and Implementation of UBI Schemes
  • Key design parameters: benefit level, payment frequency, individual vs. household
  • Universality vs. partial basic income (e.g., child basic income, disability basic income)
  • Integration with or replacement of existing social welfare programs
  • Administrative feasibility and potential for bureaucracy reduction
  • Phased implementation strategies and transition challenges
  1. Financing Universal Basic Income
  • Potential funding sources: tax reforms (e.g., progressive income tax, consumption tax, wealth tax, carbon tax)
  • Cost offsets from eliminating or streamlining existing welfare programs
  • Fiscal space analysis and long-term financial sustainability
  • Macroeconomic implications of different financing mechanisms
  • International comparisons of financing approaches for social protection
  1. Social Impacts of UBI: Poverty, Inequality, and Well-being
  • Potential of UBI to reduce poverty and income inequality
  • Impact on health outcomes (physical and mental health) and healthcare utilization
  • Effects on education, skill development, and lifelong learning
  • Changes in social cohesion, community engagement, and crime rates
  • Psychological impacts: dignity, stress reduction, autonomy, and empowerment
  1. UBI Pilot Projects and Evidence from Around the World
  • Review of key UBI experiments: Finland, Ontario, Stockton, GiveDirectly, Alaska Permanent Fund
  • Methodologies of UBI pilots: Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) vs. quasi-experiments
  • Key findings and lessons learned from various pilots (on labor, health, well-being)
  • Limitations and generalizability of pilot results
  • The ongoing debate about evidence interpretation and scaling up
  1. Welfare State Models and UBI's Place
  • Different welfare state typologies (e.g., liberal, corporatist, social democratic)
  • How UBI could fit into or transform existing welfare state structures
  • Comparative analysis of UBI alongside other social protection models (e.g., social insurance, job guarantees)
  • The political economy of UBI adoption: public opinion, political feasibility, stakeholder resistance
  • UBI as a response to future challenges: automation, climate change, pandemics
  1. Ethical Considerations and Future Directions
  • Ethical arguments for and against UBI: justice, freedom, responsibility
  • The moral obligation to provide a basic income in affluent societies
  • UBI and the redefinition of "work" and "value" in society
  • Global perspectives on UBI: relevance for developing economies
  • Future research agendas and policy innovations in basic income and social protection.

CERTIFICATION

  • Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

  • Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

  • Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com

For More Details call: +254-114-087-180

 

Redefining Social Safety Nets: Universal Basic Income (ubi) And Welfare Economics Training Course in Kenya
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