Guaranteed Minimum Income and Universal Basic Income programs: Implications for adult education

Authors: Juan Ramón Rodríguez-Fernández & Spyros Themelis
University of León, Spain & University of East Anglia, UK

Edition: Volume 61, Number 1, April 2021

Introduction: Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) is currently the principal mechanism for fighting poverty and achieving social inclusion among a plethora of social policies in the European Union (EU). In GMI, education and vocational training hold a major role in fighting social exclusion and promoting social cohesion. The first part of the paper discusses the characteristics and limitations of the GMI scheme.

The second part of the paper discusses an alternative model for income support, intended to achieve a fairer and more cohesive society, the Universal Basic Income (UBI). We close by highlighting the potential of UBI schemes on reconfiguring that UBI schemes have on reconfiguring education, with an emphasis on adult education. On its own, UBI cannot challenge the neoliberal hegemony. However, UBI can become a means for shifting attention to alternative conceptualisations of social inclusion based on the creation of adult education for critical and participatory citizenship.

Keywords: guaranteed minimum income, social policy, adult education, vocational training, social inclusion, poverty, universal basic income

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 61:1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.