The trial in question was the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (Seed), a two-year basic income experiment in the Californian city of Stockton. The scheme was conceived to confront two global issues that are especially acute in the city of 320,000: poverty and income inequality.

Seed concluded in February and analysis of the first year has now been published. It suggests that, far from dis-incentivising work as naysayers said it would, people on the guaranteed income found full-time work at more than twice the rate of non-recipients. At the beginning of the trial, just 28 per cent of recipients had full-time jobs; a year later that had risen to 40 per cent. The control group saw just a five per cent increase. 

Participants also reported significant improvements in mental health, fatigue levels and overall wellbeing compared to the control group. This echoed the findings of a similar trial in Finland, which was found to have significantly boosted wellbeing among participants.