Workshop – Basic Income as an Exit Device: Possibilities and Challenges

Following the book presentation of Unconditional Freedom: Universal Basic Income and Social Power by David Casassas on September 4, 2024, the Freiburg Institute for Basic Income Studies (FRIBIS) is hosting an expert workshop titled “Basic Income as an Exit Device: Possibilities and Challenges” on September 5, 2024, at Freiburg University.

Organizers: Jurgen De Wispelaere and Fabienne Hansen
Where? 📍 Liefmann-Haus
When? Thursday, 05/09/2024

Abstract: The argument that basic income increases workers’ bargaining position by offering them an exit option has become a staple of recent basic income debate. Basic income proponents firmly insist exit provides real social power (the power to say no) against employers. But recent criticism of the exit option has also emerged, both from basic income critics but also from those sympathetic to basic income. Recent criticism has argued that basic income may not in fact offer a real or robust exit option, that exit options are not easily generalisable across the heterogenous population of workers in a diverse and dualised labour market, and that exit options may not confer real social power or equalize bargaining power between workers and employers. This event brings together proponents and critics of the exit option and the role it can play in a basic income

Speakers and presentations:

• David Casassas (University of Barcelona): Bargaining Power: Exit Options for Entry Doors and the Emancipatory Potential of Basic Income
• Clem Davies (University of Freiburg): Universal Basic Income and Exit Options – An Experimental Approach
• Jurgen De Wispelaere (University of Bath) & Tobias Jäger (University of Freiburg): Basic Income Exit as a Social Good
• Jeeeun Jang (Tampere University): Why Context Matters: The Role of Basic Income in Exit Mechanisms
• Ben Spies-Butcher (Macquarie University): Exits Both Ways? Reflections on Basic Income, Care and Work
• Mike Howard (University of Maine) and Bernhard Neumärker (University of Freiburg) Basic Income as an Exit Device: Ordoliberalism Meets Socialism. Discussion moderated by Jurgen De Wispelaere (University of Bath)

Please note, this is a closed event. If you are interested in participating or want further information, please contact Fabienne Hansen.