Has a living income been tried anywhere?

2008-2010, in Otjivero in Namibia there was a pilot project where every adult gets 100 namibian dollars a month (50 for kids, payed to the mother) for two years. Resulting in more economic activity, less poverty, crime and malnourishment. The pilot project came about as a result of the claims that the 2002 Namtax proposal of universal living income faced.

Similar project in Ghodhakurd in Madhya Pradesh in India in 2012. They got 300 rupees a month, half for kids.

Both were intended primarily as poverty relief (hence the low sums) and as such appears more efficient then other projects. Neither has been continued or led to national projects. According to Guy Standing at University of London this is primarily because of pressure from IMF and the World Bank.

This info is courtesy of Grus&Guld, JAK Sweden's dead tree paper. JAK is a bank for interest-free saving and loans.

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