The “negative income tax” as a steering mechanism

The semantic field of the NIT around Milton Friedman in his pre-monetarist period (1939–1948)

Bibliographic Data

ID21604367
AuthorsAlberto Tena Camporesi (0000-0003-1902-9914, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume31
Issue4
Pages608-632
Publication date2024-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of the History of Economic Thought (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-2567 • E-ISSN: 1469-5936
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09672567.2024.2360486
OpenAlexW4400205750
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited33

This paper explores the intellectual history of Universal Basic Income (UBI), specifically focusing on Milton Friedman’s Negative Income Tax (NIT) as a precursor. Examining Friedman’s work in the 1940s, the study reveals the polysemic nature of early NIT proposals and underscores the significance of Friedman and Stigler’s engagement with concepts like Abba P. Lerner’s Social Dividend and Kenneth Boulding’s adjustable tax plan, the latter often overlooked in the literature. Contrary to the prevailing view of NIT as solely a poverty alleviation policy, this research also positions it, at this moment, as a macroeconomic steering mechanism. Drawing on Reinhart Koselleck’s categories, theoretical analysis emphasises the importance of exploring diverse “layers of meaning” in early NIT debates, shedding light on nuances that echo contemporary discussions on UBI

Economic history · Economics · Keynesian economics · Monetarism · Monetary economics · Monetary policy · Economic Theory and Institutions · Economic Theory and Policy · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Mathematics · Philosophy

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