GLI news from Alaska and Namibia

While there is growing interest in guaranteed livable income (GLI) around the world, only two jurisdictions currently have such a program.

The Alaska Permanent Fund is the only permanent income program in the world. This fund was created by Governor Jay Hammond in 1976 to share state oil revenues, in recognition that oil was a common resource owned by the people of Alaska. Past revenues have been invested, and an annual payment is calculated based on the investments.

This year, Alaskans will receive the highest ever dividend – $3,269. A family of four will thus receive $13,076. The regular dividend amount from the investments is $2,069 per individual, but this summer Governor Sarah Palin introduced a supplement to the dividend of $1200 as a rebate for high energy prices.

Next year’s dividend will likely not be so high, as the current financial crisis is expected to impact the invested revenues and oil prices are dropping.

Meanwhile, Namibia has a two year pilot project which is already offering some interesting insights into the impact of GLI. The project is in the Otjivero-Omitara area, where all residents regardless of income, receive 100 Namibian dollars a month.

A report assessing the first six months was just published in October. Among the highlights, the report notes that positive impacts have been experienced in terms of health, the number of children in school, access to anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS, economic empowerment of women, and progress towards the Millennium Development goals.

The project has also led to community mobilization, as the community has established a committee to advise residents on how to use the money to improve their lives and another committee to prevent a rise in alcoholism. The region has also seen a decrease in poverty-related crime.

Perhaps most interesting, in light of my blog post last week on the work disincentive, the report also shows that overall income from work increased during the period after the project began. In other words, the income helped people to increase, not decrease, the amount they worked.

A summary of the report can be found in this article from allafrica.com. For the whole report, as well as for more information on the pilot project, check out the Namibia BIG Coalition.