This archive tracks real progress in reducing poverty worldwide — from policy wins and cash transfer programs to community-led economic initiatives. Coverage spans local breakthroughs and global trends, grounded in data and the lived experiences of people moving out of poverty.
120 volunteers will get monthly payments of €1,200, or about $1,400, as part of a study testing a universal basic income.
The study will compare the experiences of the 120 volunteers with 1,380 people who do not receive the payments.
Philadelphia will provide free internet access for 35,000 low-income families. Some households will be wired for free broadband access via Comcast’s Internet Essentials program and other families will receive service from no-charge wireless hot spots purchased by the city from T-Mobile.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced that his city is now joining 15 other American cities in a program receiving funding from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, in which eligible residents will receive $500 in monthly “guaranteed income.”
The money used to start the program will come from funds Dorsey gave that is allowing Pittsburgh and 15 other cities to help those who are struggling during the economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report asserts that the number of undernourished people in India declined from 249 million in 2004-06 to 189 million in 2017-19.
Google parent company Alphabet’s internet-beaming Project Loon balloons have taken on their first commercial task. The high-flying communications aircraft are now providing thousands of Kenyans with internet access.
The mayors of Los Angeles, Oakland, Atlanta, Georgia, Tacoma, Newark, Saint Paul, Jackson, Compton, Shreveport, and Stockton have joined Mayors For A Guaranteed Income, a coalition advocating for UBI policies, or the idea of giving out recurring cash payments to all individuals without any strings attached.
Spain’s government has introduced a basic monthly income for struggling families amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure will affect about 2.3 million people in need and guarantees income of maximum $1,100 per family.
The world’s most robust study of universal basic income has concluded that it boosts recipients’ mental and financial well-being, as well as modestly improving employment.
Unveiling an unprecedented intervention by the state in the British economy, the government will cover 80% of worker salaries for at least the next three months up to a maximum of $2,900 a month.
The move came after tenant advocates and elected officials argued that evictions during this public health crisis would drive up homelessness and worsen the spread of COVID-19.
