How a JPY1,000,000 cash
benefit influences change
See the data collected from 79,117 people who participated in the survey as the recipients of the JPY1,000,000 cash benefit and the non-recipients who only answered the questionnaires.
Research Groups
-
250participantsReceive JPY1,000,000
in one payment in April, 2020 -
250participantsReceive JPY1,000,000
in one payment in October, 2020 -
500participantsReceive JPY1,000,000
in smaller monthly payments
over a period of 1 year -
78,117participantsWon’t receive JPY1,000,000
but will contribute
to the social experiment
Overall SurveyNo.1
Acknowledgement of
Basic Income due to
this project
Overall SurveyNo.2
Do you believe that
a cash benefit is
necessary during this
Coronavirus pandemic?
Comment from
the Research Team
The influence of the recent coronavirus pandemic has drawn the attention of the government and the public to the idea of cash benefits, and it is interesting to see that so many people find necessity in cash benefits!
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey `Do you believe that cash benefits are necessary during this Coronavirus pandemic?'
Result
Over 90% of people believe it is necessary to receive cash benefits.
Overall SurveyNo.3
People who have given
up on challenges due to
lack of funding
Comment from
the Research Team
I am surprised that so many people have given up on challenges due to financial reasons! Cash benefits may just be the courage that they need to pursue their dreams.
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey 'Have you given up on pursuing your dream or goals due to financial reasons?'
Result
85% of people do not pursue their dreams or goals due to lack of funding.
Survey for those
who answered
‘Gave Up’ in No. 3No.4
People who would have
challenged themselves
if they had JPY1,000,000
back then
challenged
Comment from
the Research Team
It is interesting to see that in order for people to challenge themselves, they need not JYP10,000,000, not JYP100,000, but JYP1,000,000.
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey 'If you needed funding back then, how much would you have needed?'
Result
45% of people would have challenged themselves if they had JYP1,000,000.
Survey for those
who answered
‘Gave Up’ in No. 3No.5
What they gave up on
Comment from
the Research Team
It was extremely surprising to see that the thing people gave up on the most was 'launching their own business'.
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey `Please write down what you have given up on.'
Result
See word cloud
Recipient-focused SurveyNo.6
What the recipients
especially showed
enthusiasm on
Comment from
the Research Team
It seems as though the experience of receiving a cash benefit has given people the chance to rethink their lifestyle and to self-invest.
Content of Survey
"Preliminary Survey 'Please choose from the list below if there is something you wish to do within the next year (multiple choices allowed)'
business launch, career change, certificates, study abroad, marriage, overseas travel or long-term travel, car purchase, property purchase, moving houses, medical services such as laser eye surgery, orthodontics, plastic surgery etc., none
Result
Cash benefit recipients showed greater enthusiasm in positive experiences such as setting up a business, studying abroad and marriage.
Recipient-focused SurveyNo.7
People who experienced great growth in happiness from receiving the
JPY1,000,000 cash benefit
JPY1,000,000 cash benefit
Comment from
the Research Team
Surveys conducted by governments and other institutions have proven that there is correlation between annual income and level of happiness. From this survey, we can see that recipients of the cash benefit showed a 10% increase in the level of their happiness, which is approximately the same as getting a JYP1,500,000~2,000,000 increase in annual income.
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey 'How happy are you? If 'extremely happy' is 10 and 'extremely unhappy' is 0, what number would you give yourself?
Result
From the group that received JYP1,000,000, 70% of people answered that they are 'extremely happy'.
Recipient-focused SurveyNo.8
A decrease seen in the
number of divorces of
recipients compared to
non-recipients
Comment from
the Research Team
It has been said that one of the demerits of implementing Basic Income was that it increased divorce rates, but this survey has suggested that 'cash benefits has helped improve family relationships and decreased divorce rates'.
Content of Survey
Monthly Survey 'Did you get married or divorced last month?'
Result
Cash benefit recipients showed a lower divorce rate. (1.5% : 0.6%)
Survey Analysis
Institute of Economic Research
First of all, thank you to everyone who participated in the survey. We had an overwhelming number of people participate and it has let us analyze the experiment thoroughly. The overall participants showed no major differences in the number of people or income per household compared to the average number for each, therefore, we were already able to see a change in the behavior and consciousness of the participants.
We look forward to seeing if these findings will continue or if it will show more change. Also, by conducting consistent surveys, we will be able to analyze separately the influence that the current coronavirus pandemic is causing to households and how 1-million-yen can influence change during such a situation. This should shed light on the problems that Japanese households are experiencing and what can be resolved from receiving 1-million-yen.
School of Economics
Thank you to those who participated in the survey. For someone like myself who has appealed the need to implement Basic Income, it is deeply moving to see that through this experiment, there is great possibility of finding a positive connection between cash benefits and a happier and fulfilled life.
Whether or not receiving 1-million-yen will actually encourage those who had wanted to challenge things like studying abroad or setting up their own business, despite the coronavirus situation making it difficult, it will be very interesting to see the results.
Comment from
the Research Team
During such a time like this when the necessity of cash benefits are especially the topic of discussion, people's increasing curiosity regarding cash benefits will have great meaning to this experiment.
Content of Survey
Preliminary Survey 'Do you know what Basic Income is?'
Result
48% of people acknowledged what Basic Income is from this experiment.