Introduction

Amongst its advocates, one of the key arguments for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is its potential to improve population mental health. However, while previous authors have variously examined the potential effects of UBI on income, employment and labour market demand, the direct mental health consequences of previous pilots have been less frequently examined. The purpose of this paper is therefore to conduct a review of the literature on UBI and to re-examine the existing research with a mental health focus.

Methods

Six electronic databases were used to conduct a review of the literature. We searched for empirical research studies of any design, conducted since the year 2000 in High Income Countries, exploring the effects of interventions similar to a UBI on the mental health of children or working-age adults. Grey literature and government reports were also included.

Results

A total of 1566 articles were screened of which seven peer reviewed studies and eight governmental reports were ultimately selected for inclusion. None of the identified studies directly compared the impact of individual payments with those made on a household basis, or the effects of payments which were truly universal. However, several studies evaluated the mental health outcomes associated with payments provided unconditionally, and consistently reported clear and significant improvements in mental wellbeing. Potential mediating factors included improved time with family and friends, a reduction in perceived stigma and a renewed sense of hope for the future.

Conclusions

Our review has produced evidence to suggest that prophesies surrounding the mental health benefits of a UBI are at least partially justified. However, future studies should aim to be conducted at an area level, with an adequately powered sample size, and investigate interventions of a considerable duration using a longitudinal design.

中文翻译：

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全民基本收入对心理健康的影响：综合以往试点的证据

介绍

在其倡导者中，全民基本收入 (UBI) 的主要论据之一是其改善人口心理健康的潜力。然而，虽然之前的作者对 UBI 对收入、就业和劳动力市场需求的潜在影响进行了不同的研究，但之前的试点对心理健康的直接影响却很少被研究。因此，本文的目的是回顾有关 UBI 的文献，并以心理健康为重点重新审视现有研究。

方法

使用六个电子数据库对文献进行审查。我们搜索了自 2000 年以来在高收入国家进行的任何设计的实证研究，探索类似于 UBI 的干预措施对儿童或工作年龄成年人心理健康的影响。灰色文献和政府报告也包括在内。

结果

共筛选了 1566 篇文章，其中最终选择了 7 项同行评审研究和 8 项政府报告。已确定的研究都没有直接比较个人付款与家庭付款的影响，或真正普遍的付款的影响。然而，一些研究评估了与无条件支付相关的心理健康结果，并一致报告了心理健康的明显改善。潜在的中介因素包括与家人和朋友相处的时间增加、耻辱感减少以及对未来的新希望。

结论

我们的审查已经提供证据表明，围绕 UBI 的心理健康益处的预言至少部分是合理的。然而，未来的研究应旨在在地区层面进行，具有足够的样本量，并使用纵向设计调查相当长的时间的干预措施。