Universal basic income in Asia

Basic income is one of the latest dreams in modern economics. As I wrote, there are some trials for introducing basic income in European countries. However, their attempts were not successful.

My past entry: Basic income in Swiss: A challenge?

My past entry: Universal basic income experiment in Finland

My past entry: Universal basic income, a new challenge in Swiss

At the same time, some Asian countries took similar experiments. The Indian government suggested even a five USD of monthly universal basic income was powerful enough to compete for poverty

Independent: Indian government survey says universal basic income could combat poverty

And China could reduce the interpersonal poverty gap by 6.5 percent with endorsing minimum income scheme.

TheNewsLens: From Fiction to Reality: Universal Basic Income Gaining Traction in Asia

Recently, experts in trans-pacific countries conducted a conference to discuss the meaning of universal basic income. Their main concern was that the modern trend of automation would get rid of most jobs from us.

Experts and academics from as far afield as Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea met in Taipei last week to discuss UBI, the first time the idea has been discussed in a solely Asia-Pacific context.

I am a little surprised to the fact that Asian countries have been more successful in introducing basic income than European countries which are keen to keep the level of social welfare. But Asian countries suffering from severe inequality require social security the more. Also, even fewer amount of payment would be helpful to citizens in developing countries.

I am afraid that Japan will never endorse basic income. Japanese are rather not empathetic to others. But we should consider what will help us in a truly tough situation.