OpenAI CEO's $60M universal basic income study reveals positive results

A recent social science study found that giving people $1,000 a month in universal basic income (UBI) improved their financial planning and increased their interest in starting businesses. Folks in the program were five percent more interested in budgeting and eight percent better at preparing for long-term expenses than those who didn’t get the UBI.

Participants spent about 20 extra minutes each month managing their money. They were also 15 percent more likely to think about returning to school and, by the final year, 14 percent more likely to sign up for education or job training programs.

Some groups got even more out of the program than others. African American recipients were 26 percent more likely to launch or co-found a business by the third year, with 43 percent starting companies compared to 34 percent in the control group. Women also had a 15 percent jump in setting up new businesses, with 36 percent launching ventures compared to 31 percent in the control group.

Researchers pointed out that this guaranteed cash worked like a replacement for traditional business loans, which helped African American entrepreneurs in particular because they often deal with higher rejection rates from regular loans. For women, especially those juggling caregiving duties, this program gave them a bit more room to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas without losing their work-life balance.

While the study saw an increased entrepreneurial mindset and better business planning among everyone who received UBI, the actual rates of starting businesses went up the most for African American and female recipients. While UBI can spark interest in entrepreneurship, people might still need extra support for it to happen on a broader scale.

The findings also challenge some of the usual doubts about UBI, showing that giving people a steady stream of money doesn’t kill their motivation—it actually helps them focus on their goals and take steps toward achieving them.