The Mincome Experiment

The Mincome experiment was a Canadian social program conducted in the 1970s, where the government provided a guaranteed basic income to residents of Manitoba to study its effects. The goal was to see if unconditional income support could reduce poverty, improve well-being, and influence employment behaviors. Participants received a regular payment regardless of their employment status, allowing researchers to observe changes in work, health, education, and community engagement. The findings suggested that basic income could decrease poverty and improve quality of life without necessarily reducing overall employment significantly. The experiment informed ongoing discussions about poverty alleviation and social safety nets.