Unconditional Basic Income and Sustainable Consumption: From Theory to Experimentation

Abstract This article develops hypotheses to inform an experimental approach for investigating the impact of Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) on sustainable consumption. As the ecological crisis intensifies, UBI has been discussed as a possible eco-social policy solution. However, the empirical evidence to support UBI’s ecological benefits remains limited, particularly regarding consumption and aligning the freedom inherent to UBI with sustainable choices. The article addresses this gap by conducting the necessary preliminary analysis and hypotheses development for claims regarding UBI as an eco-social policy to be examined empirically, and provides an approach for testing these hypotheses experimentally. The proposed experimental approach examines two specific mechanisms through which a UBI could impact on the sustainability of consumption choices: 1) invoking norms around reciprocity and deservingness and 2) the priming of ecological norms. The findings from such an experimental approach would guide future research on how the unconditionality inherent to UBI could facilitate more sustainable consumption choices and so contribute to policy discussions regarding UBI as an eco-social policy.