Scaling Up UBI

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Universal basic income is an idea that economists have been thinking about for decades. There are a number of pilot programs around the world, which tend to show success. What i'm talking about here now are spill over effects on the local labor market and whether we understand those at scale. To me, this is a really fascinating and pretty high stakes case where scaling really matters.

In a new book called The Voltage Effect, the economist John List — who has already revolutionized how his profession does research — is trying to start a scaling revolution. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, List teaches us how to avoid false positives, how to know whether a given success is due to the chef or the ingredients, and how to practice “optimal quitting.”