Distribution of 1-million-yen (total of 1-billion-yen) Cash Benefit Begins: A large-scaled Basic Income Social Experiment Survey conducted in 3 different payment methods

CHIBA, Japan, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting April 2020, Yusaku Maezawa will officially conduct a Social Experiment which distributes a cash benefit (Basic Income) of 1-million-yen per person to 1000 people who have been randomly chosen from the 4.3 million people who entered the 'Maezawa Otoshidama' giveaway in January 2020, through Twitter.

Amid the ongoing chaos and confusion that the novel coronavirus has caused to the economy and society, a social experiment entitled "Basic Income Social Experiment Survey" (hereinafter referred to as "this experiment"), will be conducted to distinguish the effects that the money will have on people's behavior, conditions and values, and aims to see the possibility of improving one's labor productivity as well as the possibility of increasing one's motivation to work and challenge themselves. This experiment will have the recipients divided entirely randomly into three payment groups:

1. Provide 1-million-yen in one payment in April
2. Provide 1-million-yen in one payment in October
3. Provide 1-million-yen in smaller monthly payments over a period of one year

Experimenting with various payment methods will allow new types of academic discoveries to be uncovered. Moreover, with the cooperation from academic researchers including Professor Takashi Unayama, Hitotsubashi University Institute of Economic Research, and Professor Tomohiro Inoue, Associate Professor at Komazawa University School of Economics, the data collected from this experiment will be published in an academic paper and an official report which will allow this social experiment to become a source of reference for the study of Basic Income.

The Purpose and Details of the 'Questionnaire Survey'

By dividing the recipients into three different groups, this survey aims to find out whether a person physically having the "cash" or a person having the "information" that they will be receiving the money, is more significant. The various groups will illustrate the effects that the cash benefits will have on people's behavior and decision-making skills, thus creating a structure that will help with the implementation of Basic Income. For the experiment to have accurate analysis of the results, not only will the winners of the payments participate in the surveys but invitation to partake will also be open to the public.

This long-term research will be conducted over a period of 1 year to investigate the effect that the 1-million-yen that is given to the recipient has on them. Three "Overall Surveys" will be conducted – prior, intermediate and post experiment – and a regular 'Monthly Survey' will be conducted 14 times, totaling to 17 surveys over the period of the whole experiment. In the 'Overall Survey,' surveyed participants will be asked questions related to their environment and values, and any changes will be studied over the period of the experiment. For the regular 'Monthly Surveys,' the way recipients spend their time, their expenditures, their satisfaction on life and their health status will be explored.

System of Research and Analysis

For this experiment, 'Maezawa Otoshidama Management Secretariat,' the subject constituent, will provide the survey results online. Also, with the supervision of academic researchers, the data collected will be statistically analyzed and published in a 'Maezawa Basic Income Social Experiment 2020 Final Report.' Additionally, a Research Team consisting of academic researchers will be organized in order to study the findings from various fields such as economics, sociology and psychology, and eventually write academic papers that will become a starting point for the study of Basic Income.

In a developed country like Japan that has a great possibility of implementing Basic Income, such an experiment where an individual distributes its personal wealth with no restrictions or conditions, and giving each person an adequate amount to live on just from the cash benefit, would be considered a 'uniquely-designed experiment.'

Introducing the Research Team

Tomohiro Inoue is an Associate Professor at Komazawa University School of Economics. He is a Part-time Lecturer at Waseda University, Senior Research Fellow at Keio University SFC, PhD in Economics, has written books such as 'Helicopter Money,' 'Artificial Super Intelligence,' 'New Basic Income,' 'The Pure Mechanized Economy' and 'MMT.'

"I hope this experiment spreads the idea of Basic Income to more people," says Inoue.

Takashi Unayama is a Professor at Hitotsubashi University Institute of Economic Research. Unayama graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Economics. Completed Doctoral Course at University of Tokyo, PhD in Economics, engaged in research activities at Keio Univ., Kyoto Univ. and Kobe Univ. Currently a Professor at Hitotsubashi University, specializes in Japanese economy, household consumption and economic statistics.

"I am very excited to participate in such an exceptional social experiment. I look forward to unraveling the mysteries of human behavior," says Unayama.

What is Basic Income?

Basic Income (BI) is a system that allows all citizens to receive money unconditionally on a regular basis. The money being given to every single person, not household, is also a significant trait of BI. By implementing BI, it will give everyone a chance to live a life with adequate amount of money needed for their daily needs, thus eliminating poverty. There is not a single advanced country that has officially brought in the BI system; however, in recent years, countries within Europe have shown efforts to turn a country with BI into reality and is gaining great attention globally.

About Yusaku Maezawa

Born in Japan. After graduating high school, Yusaku Maezawa made his rock band debut. He then founded a fashion EC 'ZOZOTOWN.' TSE-listed and gained a market worth of US$15 billion. In Sept. 2019, he sold it to Softbank Group and stepped down as CEO. His net worth is now US$2 billion (Forbes). He has a passion for collecting contemporary art, Japanese antiques, supercars, wine etc. Some people know him for purchasing J.M. Basquiat's $110 million painting. He will be the first civilian to fly around the moon on SpaceX's Starship rocket (#dearMoon Project), scheduled to launch in 2023.

In 2019, he did a 100-million-yen giveaway on Twitter (1M yen to 100 winners). He held the record for the most retweeted tweet. In 2020, he did a giveaway of up to 1 billion yen. This social experiment will study the effects of BI. Will you be happier if you were given 1M yen?

References

• [Social Experiment using Otoshidama] Why give away 1-million-yen to 1000 people?
• https://note.com/ysk2020/n/n287f05c30b9e
• [Total of 1-billion-yen] MZ Twitter Giveaway: 1-million-yen to 1000 people!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfulqIBiVfQ
• For further details of 'Maezawa Basic Income Social Experiment': https://www.yusakumaezawa.com/en/

Contact Information

• For specialists who wish to contribute to this social experiment, please contact: contact2020@yusakumaezawa.com
• Press Inquiries: "Maezawa Basic Income Social Experiment 2020" PR Office (Ketchum Inc. Paxton Mittleman), Email: Paxton.mittleman@ketchum.com

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