Postdoc Lisa Reuter awarded the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences 2023

Aug 14, 2023 | News, Topical

Lisa Reuter, who has been working as a Postdoc at FRIBIS since October 2022, has received the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences (€3,500) for her dissertation in psychology. The prize is awarded annually in two categories by the University College Freiburg. Her cumulative PhD thesis at the Institute of Psychology and the Cluster of Excellence, Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS). It is entitled Bridging over the Troubled Waters of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: Exploring Cognitive-Affective Maps in Empirical Research

In the field of basic income, Lisa Reuter is particularly interested in questions of social redistribution, socio-political narratives, conceptualizations of society and humankind, socio-ecological transformation, the commons and interdisciplinary research approaches.

Lisa Reuter’s PhD thesis: Limits and possibility of the method of Cognitive Affective Maps (CAMs).

“In her cumulative doctoral thesis at the Institute of Psychology and the University of Freiburg Cluster of Excellence “Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems” (livMatS), Dr. Lisa Reuter investigated the possibilities and limits of “Cognitive Affective Maps” (CAMs), a method developed by Paul Thagard. CAMs are maps that depict the content of a person’s or group’s belief system in the shape of visual networks, allowing them to be assessed as positive, negative, neutral, or ambivalent. This methodological approach is used in mixed methods research. Reuter applied CAMs to three different case studies and analysed the results. In her work, she used software that allows an individual to easily visualise experiences and impressions on a given topic – thereby making use of larger and standardised CAM data sets possible.

With the aid of CAMs, Reuter examined whether the cognitive-affective perceptions of the corona pandemic were altered by taking regular walks. A cross-sectional study that included participants from Germany and Canada was dedicated additionally to the perceived threat of the coronavirus. In a third study, Reuter investigated how the reproduction of natural phenomena is perceived during the development of new technologies. She also combined psychological and philosophical approaches in this work. Reuter cooperated with partners in political science and philosophy in her studies. She has arrived at the result that computer-aided applications of CAMs create bridges between qualitative and quantitative methods, adding that precisely during interdisciplinary work they unify of the advantages of both approaches.”

Source: Office of University and Science Communications, Freiburg University

Prof. Dr. Almaz Zelleke will be Visiting Professor at FRIBIS in October 2023

Aug 13, 2023 | News, Topical

Following her keynote at this year’s FRIBIS annual conference, Almaz Zelleke, professor of Practice in Political Science at NYU Shanghai, and member of the FRIBIS team UBI and Gender, remains at FRIBIS for two weeks as a visiting professor. During her stay, she will give a workshop to FRIBIS PhD students on the topic how to Make the Best of Academic Conferences and share ideas with them about their research projects. After the visit of Prof. Dr. Toru Yamamori in September, the FRIBIS Gender team is particularly excited to have the opportunity to meet another team member in person and further engage in the exploration of UBI from a gender perspective.

Prof. Dr. Almaz Zelleke is a Professor of Practice in Political Science at NYU Shanghai. She specializes in UBI, including gender, political theory and public policy, feminist political theory, and comparative political economy. Her articles on basic income, distributive justice, welfare policy, and feminist political theory have been published in Basic Income Studies, Political Quarterly, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Policy and Politics, Review of Social Economy, Journal of Socio-Economics, and Political y Sociedad. Lives in NYC, USA.

“The State Of The Art In Basic Income Policy” [Video Series] – Top 5 Authors Share Insights!

Aug 7, 2023 | News, Topical

Welcome to our public lecture series on “The State Of The Art Of Basic Income Policy,” held and recorded in April and May 2023. Five researchers present their previously published papers, providing an in-depth look at their work. Professor Jurgen De Wispelaere, who is GWP visiting professor in the summer of 2023, is hosting the lecture series.
Prof. Dr. Milena Buchs (University of Leeds)
Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?
Assit.-Prof. Dr. Femke Roosma (Tilburg University)
Between left and right: A discourse network analysis of Universal Basic Income on Dutch Twitter
Assist.-Prof. Dr. Pilar Gonalons-Pons (University of Pennsylvania)
Exit, voice and loyalty in the family: findings from a basic income experiment
Prof. Dr. Tim Vlandas (University of Oxford)
The political economy of individual-level support for the basic income in Europe
Dr. Leire Rincón (Autonomous University of Barcelona)
A Robin Hood for all: a conjoint experiment on support for basic income

On Monday, 24th April 2023, Prof. Dr. Milena Buchs (University of Leeds) presented a lecture on “Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?” (article link).

Bio: Milena Buchs’s research focuses on sustainable welfare and just transitions. She has published widely on the relationship between economic growth and welfare states, and the question of how welfare states can be transformed so that everyone’s needs can be achieved within planetary limits. Several of her publications also focus on the distributional and justice implications of climate policies and measures that improve their distributional outcomes.

On Wednesday, 26th April 2023, Assit.-Prof. Dr. Femke Roosma (Tilburg University) presented a lecture on “Between left and right: A discourse network analysis of Universal Basic Income on Dutch Twitter” (article link).

Bio: Femke Roosma’s research focusses on the legitimacy of social policies and welfare states. She studies multiple dimensions of support for the welfare state, solidarity and deservingness perceptions and support for universal basic income. Her research on basic income has appeared in leading journals in sociology and social policy.

On Wednesday, 3rd May 2023, Assist.-Prof. Dr. Pilar Gonalons-Pons (University of Pennsylvania) presented a lecture on “Exit, voice and loyalty in the family: findings from a basic income experiment” (article link).

Bio: Pilar Gonalons-Pons’s research examines how work, families, and public policies structure economic inequalities. Much of her work, published in leading international journals in sociology and social policy, is guided by the overall goal to develop a comprehensive understanding about the political economy and gendering of care and reproductive paid and unpaid work and its contribution to economic inequalities.

On Monday, 8th May 2023, Prof. Dr. Tim Vlandas (University of Oxford) presented a lecture on “The political economy of individual-level support for the basic income in Europe” (article link).

Bio: Tim Vlandas’s research interests are in comparative political economy with a particular focus on the determinants and consequences of social and economic policies. He has written several articles on basic income in leading international publications and in 2022 published Foreign States in Domestic Markets (Oxford University Press).

On Wednesday, 10th May 2023, Dr. Leire Rincón (Autonomous University of Barcelona) presented a lecture on “A Robin Hood for all: a conjoint experiment on support for basic income“ (article link).

Bio: Leire Rincón recently completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Barcelona and the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), in which she looked at preferences for universal basic income and competing policy alternatives in comparative perspective. She has published several articles in leading policy journals examining public support for basic income. In addition to public opinion and political behaviour in relation to welfare policies and redistributive politics, in her recent research she also studies different aspects of gender-based violence.

Workshop in Niterói, Brazil: Basic Income Social Policies in Practice – Learnings from Maricá and Niterói in Dialogue with the Global North

Jul 11, 2023 | News, Topical

Since the early 2000s, the emergence and continuous growth of cash transfer programs define the main stage in the discussion surrounding the future of social protection. While established first in Latin America, programs focussing on direct cash transfers have spread throughout various countries and contexts. Parallelly, a debate developed on the advantages and disadvantages of the conditionality and unconditionality of cash transfers as social policy mechanisms.

The municipality of Maricá established the Renda Básica de Cidadania in 2013 and since then, expanded it majorly. Today, it is the largest basic income program in Latin America. It is based on the circulation of a digital community currency, called mumbuca, which creates a broad network of local exchange within the municipality. Meanwhile, the Moeda Social Arariboia in Niterói was established in its current form in 2022. While the Niterói policy carries some similarities with the policy in Maricá, it also differs in various points.

The goal of creating a social protection net brings both of them together. But what does this mean in practice? What are the impacts of these policies? How does the receiving of mumbuca/arariboia translate into the local economy? What difficulties and chances arise through the policies? How do these policies relate to ideas of solidarity economy? This workshop plans to look at the current state of implementation, evaluation, and research on the social policies in Maricá and Niterói, aiming to give an overview, relate to basic income ideas, and create a broad spectrum of exchange likewise.

Further, while innovative and ground-breaking, the policies of cash transfer cum local currency, as implemented in Maricá and Niterói, share features with policies, pilots, and experiments implemented throughout the world, particularly in the Global North. The second main objective of this workshop is to offer an opportunity for international researchers and policymakers based in Europe and the USA to talk about similar experiences observed elsewhere and to contribute to local researchers and policymakers to take stock of the virtues and limitations of the policies that are active in Maricá and Niterói currently.

Date/Location

When? August 3rd, 2023, 09:00 am – 06:00 pm
Where? UFF, Gragoatá-Campus, Bloco F, R 407, Niterói, Brazil

Further Remarks
Please, note that this workshop will take place in English. It will be held exclusively offline/in person at the location named above.

The organizers do not and shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, colour, national origin, gender, disability, or age (and any other bases you wish to include) who wish to participate in this event.

Click here for the schedule (PDF).

NEW: FRIBIS’ UBI Experiments team gets off the ground

Jul 3, 2023 | News, Topical

Why the team was founded

Interest in basic income has increased significantly in recent years, both in academia and in politics. This growing attention from the media has contributed to a greater willingness to fund UBI pilot projects. As a result, numerous basic income pilots have been launched around the world in recent years. Nevertheless, there is as still no international platform to enable the mutual exchange of pilot results to promote collaboration within different teams or help researchers to work effectively with policy-makers. The UBI Experiments Team aims to change this by setting up the first global pilot network. With Jurgen De Wispelaere, Karl Widerquist, Leah Hamilton, Miriam Opwonya Laker, Neil Howard and Nika Soon-Shiong, the team includes many well-known faces from the Basic Income scene.

Next steps

The team has set itself a 4-point plan to be tackled, starting this year. 1) Starting in the summer of 2023, UBI Experiments will publish a monthly newsletter for the global pilot community, providing updates on research, policy developments, possible meetings, publications and opportunities for collaboration. 2) The team will also host a quarterly online seminar series in which members of the pilot project community can share and discuss the latest findings and developments in their work. 3) In late 2023 the team will host a FRIBIS Winter School entitled “How to Build a Pilot” for students, researchers and pilots. (This will complement the one-day Summer School offered by FRIBIS in July 2023). 4) Finally, the team will host the world’s first pilot community conference at FRIBIS in summer 2024.

Click here for the team page

Freiburg Rising Stars Academy (Excellence funding): FRIBIS encourages outstanding young researchers to apply

Jun 14, 2023 | News, Topical

What is the Rising Stars Academy?

Rising Stars is a program launched by the University of Freiburg to support highly qualified international young researchers. The Freiburg Rising Stars Academy offers researchers from various disciplines the opportunity to apply for funding. Applicants have the opportunity to join already established research teams and projects with their own research proposals. For more information, see the Rising Stars Academy Fact Sheet.

Notice: The deadline for submission has been extended to July 8, 2023.

What are the benefits of being a Rising Star?

  • International experience and recognition
  • Research collaboration at the highest level
  • The opportunity to build and expand professional networks
  • Travel grants to Freiburg, and much more.

What role does FRIBIS play?

The head of FRIBIS, Prof. Bernhard Neumärker, is a Host Principal Investigator of the Rising Stars Academy. As an interdisciplinary research network, FRIBIS welcomes applicants from all disciplines who are interested in Universal Basic Income research. Joint projects and publications as well as new cooperation partners and third party funding for future research projects are desired by us. There is a possibility to fill doctoral positions with suitable Rising Stars. Interested applicants contact Dr. Bianca Blum.

If you would like to invite or encourage interested persons to participate in the Rising Stars Academy, you can download a sample letter here.

Open for applications: FRIBIS Summer School on “Empirical methods of UBI investigations” in July 2023

May 2, 2023 | News, Topical

FRIBIS will be hosting a three-part Summer School this year which will take place in Freiburg. Each part will focus on the topic of “Empirical Methods in UBI Investigation” but from different perspectives. The Summer School will be held in English and applications can be submitted now. (For Deadlines, see below)

Part 1/3: How to build a UBI pilot

The first part of the Summer School (July 10, 2023) will start with the topic How to build a UBI pilot. A growing number of UBI pilot tests are being proposed or are in preparation around the world. However, there is limited knowledge about how to design a pilot, the most appropriate methods, and the ethics of pilot research. Participants will address these issues.

Application deadline: 22nd May 2023.

Part 2/3: Social Contract Lab Experiments

The second part of the Summer School (11th-14th July) is entitled Social Contract Lab Experiments. It will focus on the application of Social Contract Theory to behavioural and experimental economics, both in theory and practice. Participants will discuss the relevance of behavioural experiments for normative theories and learn how to design and conduct lab experiments.

Application deadline: 22nd May 2023.

Summer School 3/3: Microsimulation and Social Welfare Maximization

The third part of the Summer School (18th-20th July) will focus on the topic of Microsimulation and Social Welfare Maximization. Both young researchers (MSc, PhD) and more advanced academics who are nevertheless still beginners in static modelling will have the rare opportunity to learn from an extensive introduction to the development of static microsimulation models and welfare analysis, covering both theory and practice.

Application deadline: 22nd May 2023.

A tribute to Götz W. Werner: New YouTube videos with Prof. Bernhard Neumärker and Enno Schmidt

Apr 26, 2023 | News, Topical

Two videos on the legacy of Götz Werner produced by Enno Schmidt have just been published on the FRIBIS YouTube channel: Prof. Bernhard Neumärker draws connections between Götz Werner’s various guiding entrepreneurial principles in his lecture “UBI & New Ordoliberalism“, while Enno Schmidt paints a vivid picture of Götz Werner as an entrepreneur and basic income advocate in his tribute film.

Bernhard Neumärker: UBI & New Ordoliberalism

In this lecture, Prof. Neumärker shows how Götz Werner’s entrepreneurial guiding principles and the academic UBI discourse are interrelated in numerous ways. These principles include Ex ante Social Contracting, Ex post stable Social Contracting, Ex post Governance and aspects of a paradigm shift in the social market economy. Prof. Neumärker shows how New Ordoliberalism and Basic Income can be derived from Werner’s principles as basic cornerstones of a just social contract.

Neumärker discusses the ‘Libertarian Trap’ in the Political Economy of Freedom as well as the ‘Authoritarian Trap’. He shows how the Participatory UBI could help to avoid the libertarian trap and to get a step out of the authoritarian trap. The paradigm shift he envisions also extends to the means-tested welfare system, the redistribution of power in labor contracts, and the potentials of a UBI, in terms of time sovereignty (multiplicative utility function) and intrinsic motivation. Finally, Neumärker argues that the consumption tax is an adequate way to finance the basic income.

An obituary for Götz W. Werner by Enno Schmidt

At the 2022 BIEN Congress in Brisbane, Australia, Enno Schmidt presented this obituary to raise Götz Werner’s international profile.

Enno Schmidt is co-founder of the popular initiative and referendum for the introduction of Unconditional Basic Income in Switzerland, author of the film “Grundeinkommen – ein Kulturimpuls” (“Basic Income – A Cultural Impulse”) and managing director of FRIBIS.

Götz Werner was a multi-award-winning entrepreneur and the most prominent proponent of an Unconditional Basic Income in Germany. In the period from 2005 until shortly before his death, Enno Schmidt conducted numerous interviews with him and examined Götz Werner’s mindset and corporate leadership as well as its actual impact on the people in his company.

Basic Income Globetrotter: Prof. Jurgen De Wispelaere now in Freiburg

Apr 18, 2023 | News, Topical

His academic interest in Basic Income has already taken Jurgen De Wispelaere to many places: From Belgium to Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Spain, Finland, Argentina and finally Chile. His research focuses on Basic Income experiments and how they have impacted policy. Now Prof. De Wispelaere will stay in Freiburg for three months to research, teach, write and share ideas with members of both FRIBIS and GWP.

Wissenschaftliche Veranstaltungen mit Jurgen De Wispelaere

Between 24 April and 10 May, Jurgen De Wispelaere will host a Public Lecture Series on “The State Of The Art In Basic Income Policy: A Public Lecture Series“, to which he has invited prominent participants. In the summer semester, Prof. De Wispelaere will also offer a seminar for Master’s students: “Recent Advances in Basic Income Policy Research“.

 

 

On Thursday, 27th April, he will present an evening lecture on “Basic Income Trials: The problem of assuring (continued) political commitment”. This event will take place online as well as onsite.

On 11 May, as part of the UBITrans Public Seminar Series, he will give a lecture on “Basic income as an Eco-Social Policy Instrument? A Preliminary Framework and Comparative Analysis of Policy Alternatives“.

Interview with Jurgen De Wispelaere about his visit in Freiburg

What do you hope to gain from your time in Freiburg on both a private and academic level?

On a personal level it is really interesting for me to visit Germany again and reclaim my long-lost quasi-German heritage. I was actually born in Köln — hence the name Jürgen, although I dropped the Umlaut when I moved to the UK in the late 1990s because the English don’t know what to do with that. I moved to Belgium when I was 10y old and haven’t been back to Germany since. At the time I was fluent in German, but 40 years later, I hope to use the three months in Freiburg to recover as much as possible. Of course, it isn’t just about the language but also reconnecting to the German culture and lifestyle I still vaguely remember.

On a professional level I look forward to meeting and discussing basic income with a whole group of students — master, PhD and postdocs — at GWP and FRIBIS. Meeting fresh faces and discussing their and my research is what research visits are all about. As you become more senior in your career, you start to realise that the really exciting new ideas often come from people at the start of their career. So I’m keen to learn and explore collaborating with both students and faculty in Freiburg. At the same time, I also look forward to connecting again with broader research communities in Europe, which is much easier to do from Freiburg than from Valdivia in the south of Chile (where I normally live).

Are there any writing projects you want to focus on during your stay?

Funnily enough, yes! In addition to finishing up some small pieces of research, I’ll be working on three main areas of research. First, I will continue working on the policy impact of basic income experiments, which is an area of research strangely absent from much of the debate around basic income experiments. People talk about the design, implementation and findings of experiments, but no one really looks at what happens after. This is a project I have started with Joe Chrisp, which already led to a special issue of the European Journal of Social Security, but which we are now developing and expanding.

A second project is also related to basic income experiments. With my long-standing collaborator Lindsay Stirton, I plan to work on a paper that examines how to assure that political actors continue their initial commitment to funding, designing, implementing and evaluating a basic income experiment. It turns out that governments who make an initial political commitment to a basic income experiment immediately face all sorts of political pressures and circumstances that threaten this continued commitment. By looking at several of the recent cases (Finland, Ontario, Catalonia and Ireland) I hope to get more insight in what is the core problem and how we might think of protecting basic income experiments from loss of political commitment over time. This will be the topic of my public lecture on 27 April. Third, building on earlier work I published on the relation between basic income and exit from the labour market, I will explore the option of collaborating on some research in the political economy of basic income and the exit option with Prof Neumärker and several of the PhD students. These projects should keep me busy during the three months I’ll be visiting Freiburg.

The State Of The Art In Basic Income Policy: A Public Lecture Series (hosted by Prof. Dr. Jurgen De Wispelaere)

Apr 12, 2023 | News, Topical

The public lecture series is the perfect opportunity to delve into some of the cutting-edge work in the field of basic income policy research. Featuring six expert authors, each discussing a key article in their research, this series promises to offer unique insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding basic income policy. Join us online for this enriching event series and explore the latest research and findings on basic income policy.

The host of the public seminar series is Professor Jurgen De Wispelaere who is the visiting professor at the Götz-Werner-Chair. Professor De Wispelaere is a political theorist and policy scholar, and a world-leading expert on the politics of basic income. This event series is inspired by the seminar he offers this semester at the University of Freiburg.

On Monday, 24th April, Prof. Dr. Milena Buchs (University of Leeds) will present an evening lecture on “Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?“.

Video recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9KBiA-TVjE

On Wednesday, 26th April, Assit.-Prof. Dr. Femke Roosma (Tilburg University) will present an evening lecture on “Between left and right: A discourse network analysis of Universal Basic Income on Dutch Twitter“.

Video recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnyvNsrr8JI

On Friday, 28th April, Prof. Dr. Yannick Vanderborght (UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles) will present an evening lecture on “Basic Income and the Social Investment State: Towards Mutual Reinforcement?“.

On Wednesday, 3rd May, Assist.-Prof. Dr. Pilar Gonalons-Pons (University of Pennsylvania) will present an evening lecture on “Exit, voice and loyalty in the family: findings from a basic income experiment“.

Video recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsMHDoGm6JU

On Monday, 8th May, Prof. Dr. Tim Vlandas (University of Oxford) will present an evening lecture on “The political economy of individual-level support for the basic income in Europe“.

Video recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjfx0YeQ_kY

On Wednesday, 10th May, Dr. Leire Rincón (Autonomous University of Barcelona) will present an evening lecture on “A Robin Hood for all: a conjoint experiment on support for basic income“.

Video recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7tSw-0tKKI