Universal Basic Income in the United States and Advanced Countries
探讨全民基本收入在发达国家的作用，比较其与美国现有转移支付项目，发现全民基本收入会更多惠及无子女、非老年、非残疾家庭和中产阶级，但大幅增加低收入家庭转移支付成本极高，且现有试点研究难以解决关键问题。
We discuss the potential role of universal basic incomes (UBIs) in advanced countries. A feature of advanced economies that distinguishes them from developing countries is the existence of well-developed, if often incomplete, safety nets. We develop a framework for describing transfer programs that is flexible enough to encompass most existing programs as well as UBIs, and we use this framework to compare various UBIs to the existing constellation of programs in the United States. A UBI would direct much larger shares of transfers to childless, nonelderly, nondisabled households than existing programs, and much more to middle-income rather than poor households. A UBI large enough to increase transfers to low-income families would be enormously expensive. We review the labor supply literature for evidence on the likely impacts of a UBI. We argue that the ongoing UBI pilot studies will do little to resolve the major outstanding questions.