On March 6, 2020, the Stanford Basic Income Lab hosted an all-day workshop entitled, “What’s In a Name?”

The aim of the workshop was to examine the variety of names that have been given to universal basic income (guaranteed income, base income, basic income guarantee, freedom dividend) and related programs (Negative Income Tax, EITC). We explored the ethical values underpinning different versions of the proposal and draw on the insights of history, political science, and social psychology to understand what is at stake when we use one name or another. This event was also an occasion to learn from practitioners, policy makers and researchers involved in UBI experiments and seek to better understand their questions, challenges and decisions on how to name the pilot programs and the policy they are experimenting.

The workshop was highly participative with over 30 participant from around the country including UBI experimenters from Stockton, CA; Jackson, MI; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; and Newark, NJ.

A white paper summarizing the event, key findings and recommendations can be found on the website under the Research section.