ONE of the main criticisms of the proposals for a citizen’s basic income policy is that it would affect people’s willingness to work, but news from Finland yesterday confirmed that the country’s trial of the system did not stop people in the programme from seeking work.

The first trial period of Finland’s basic income experiment ended last year and early indications showed that it did not appear to have any statistical impact on employment.

The concern that it might stop people seeking work now also appears to be unfounded, according to a new report published yesterday by the Finnish government think tank Vatt, the Institute for Economic Research.

In the two-year project, all participants were given a basic tax-free income of 560 euros (£480) per month and were not asked to seek jobs or take part in employment promotion programmes. The project – the first of its kind by a national government in Europe – was trialled during 2017 and 2018 and involved 2000 randomly-selected individuals.

As reported by Yle News, Vatt stated that the basic income experiment contained elements that “could undermine employment measures and make people passive.”

Yle reported: “Authors of the Vatt report found that this was not the case.”

Head researcher Kari Hamalainen said: “In light of these results, the programmes offered by labour force professionals did not appear to be very unpleasant [to participants]. The basic income group participated in them in almost the same way as others, although the unconditional basic income offered them every opportunity to avoid the obligations of seeking employment.”

Specialist researcher Jouko Verho said: “The trial was successfully implemented. The random nature of the selection ensured that we were able to reliably assess it using register data. Hopefully the incoming government will also use randomised experiments to develop the social benefits system.”

New president faces domestic abuse policy challenge

SLOVAKIA’s new President Zuzana Caputova found out within hours of her election on Sunday just how difficult her job is going to be.

The National:

For the avowed campaigner for equality and women’s rights had to watch on as the Slovakian Parliament voted to reject the Istanbul Convention on preventing domestic violence and combating violence against women.

The European Parliament has been urging Slovakia and all other 28 member states of the European Union to adopt the convention, which was the brainchild of the Council of Europe, for more than a year.

Opened in 2012, the first signatory was Turkey, and 35 other countries who are members of the Council of Europe have signed it, though 16 have still to ratify it in their own legislatures.

The latest signatory was Ireland, and while the UK has signed up, the Westminster Government has still to ratify the convention.

In Slovakia yesterday it was reported that former minister of justice Lucia Zitnanska stated: “We need to understand that the relation between a man and a woman should be based on agreement, not permission or a ban on doing something.”

Former prime minister Robert Fico said that the government cannot accept a law which does not respect the beliefs of the majority of Slovak citizens.

He said: “Some parts of the Istanbul convention could be incompatible with the Slovak constitution, as they allow for the introduction of same sex marriages.”

President Caputova has promised to fight for equality rights in a socially conservative nation which has a constitution that states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

The issue is sure to feature in the Slovakian general election later this year.

Small nations have best 'knowledge economies'

THREE European countries who all have populations less than that of Scotland have been named as the top performers in a new ranking of knowledge economies.

Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania came top in that order in a new knowledge economy index launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The investment bank based in London was founded in 1991 to create a new post-Cold War era in central and eastern Europe.

The index measures the performance of the 38 economies where the bank invests, and the economies of eight frontier innovators, including the USA and Japan.

Knowledge economy is an economy in which growth is dependent on the quantity, quality, and accessibility of the information available, rather than the means of production. The EBRD index measures key pillars of such economies.

EBRD revealed that on a scale of one to 10, from least advanced to most advanced knowledge economies, Estonia rated 6.82, Slovenia at 6.65 and Lithuania with 6.03.

In contrast, Egypt, West Bank and Gaza and Turkmenistan produced the lowest scores with results around three. Scotland was not counted separately on the index but is known to have a highly-rated knowledge economy.

Mattia Romani, EBRD managing director of economics, policy and governance, said: “This is an important initiative which will help our countries identify their strengths and weaknesses in innovation. There are no one-size-fits-all policies to promote the knowledge economy.”