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Money for nothing: the truth about universal basic income

Several projects are testing the idea of doling out funds that people can use however they want.
  1. Carrie Arnold

    1. Carrie Arnold is a freelance journalist in Richmond, Virginia.

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A market in Kenya

Thousands of Kenyans are taking part in a trial in which they will receive substantial monthly or yearly payments. Credit: Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum

Along the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya, mobile phones in several hundred villages ding in unison on the first of every month. For more than 21,000 adults, the sound means one thing: 2,250 Kenyan shillings appearing in their bank accounts. The cash equals one-quarter to half of the average income for a two-adult household in Bomet County, one of the poorest in Kenya.

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Nature 557, 626-628 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05259-x

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