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- A basic income program in rural Romania has helped children succeed — and even become Olympians.
- The kids spent the money on food, clothes, textbooks, therapy, and sports gear.
- Researchers reported improved mental and emotional health, financial stability, and other benefits.
A basic income program in rural Romania has helped disadvantaged children build successful careers, overcome family problems and emotional challenges, and even become Olympic athletes.
The initiative is an offshoot of universal basic income — the idea of giving cash to everyone in a society regardless of their wealth and with no strings attached, to provide a safety net and combat poverty.
The Romanian program began in 2007 with a single family of four but has grown to about 80 participants.
Researcher Alexandru Ureche launched it with the support of a nonprofit called the Children Aid and Development Organization. He outlined the results in a paper published in Oblìk ì fìnansi, a peer-reviewed accounting and finance journal.
Ureche and his team gave participants enough money to meet their basic needs, and budgeted for other expenses such as school books, winter clothing, and medical bills. They also provided extra funds for occasional health costs such as dental work.
The amount of money given wasn't disclosed in the paper. Business Insider has contacted Ureche for more details.
The researchers tracked participants' physical, mental, and emotional health, trust, goal setting and reaching, academic progress, engagement in extracurricular activities, personal achievement, and overall financial stability.
Three success stories
Christian, who became the program's first participant at age 15, grew up in a cash-strapped household. He excelled in school and graduated with a computer science degree from a top Romanian university.
He soon landed a job at video-gaming titan Electronic Arts and went on to work at companies including Microsoft. He also volunteered at nonprofits to help impoverished Roma families.
Christian and his then-fiancée saved enough money to purchase their first home and pay it off completely in four years. They've since bought a second home as an investment and source of passive income to supplement their wages. Christian now works at the United Nations.
"Christian is happily married, and enjoying the financial stability he always wanted," Ureche wrote.
Christian's well-being score improved from 6.3 to 8.9 during his nine years in the basic income program. His final scores across nine categories were all 9s except for an 8 in physical health — a stark contrast from his initial scores of 4 in financial stability and 5 in both goal setting and achieving.
Laurel, also called Laura Coman, joined the program in ninth grade. Ureche and his colleagues encouraged her to take up a sport, so she tried rifle shooting. She rose to become the national champion, went on to win multiple gold medals at international competitions, and competed in the 2020 Olympics where she ranked in the top 10.
However, Laurel initially struggled with the intense demands and emotional pressures of elite sports. The researchers worked with her to become more disciplined.
Off the range, Laurel won entry into Romania's top business school, ASE Bucharest. She needed more money to pay for her schooling and training, so the program organizers boosted her cash stipend to help her afford food, clothes, textbooks, therapy, and sports gear.
"She is by far the only Romanian woman athlete who has enjoyed this level of success in her sport," Ureche wrote. "Her achievements owe a lot to her newfound physical and mental fortitude, made possible by a modest (at times) basic-income stipend."
Laurel earns a stable income from her job with the Romanian police. Her well-being score rose from 6.7 to 9.3 after nine years in the program, with scores of 10 in physical and emotional health and extracurricular activities.
Gabriel grew up in poverty with divorced parents. He was raised by an alcoholic father and lived with various neighbors during his teenage years. He joined the basic income program in fifth grade.
"Not having a stable home left some emotional scars, but Gabriel was given outside emotional help and support during this time, and was able to cope well with his situation," Ureche wrote.
Despite his tough start to life, Gabriel graduated with a law degree from a leading Romanian university and has a steady income working as a clerk for a judge in Transylvania. He's moved in with his partner and they may have children.
Gabriel's well-being score rose from 6.2 to 8.2 after 10 years in the program. His financial stability score jumped from 3 to 8, and his trust in others rose from 5.5 to 8.
Plenty of benefits, voluntary exits
Ureche listed the myriad benefits of receiving a basic income for his program's participants.
"Recipients have overwhelmingly shown improved mental health, emotional stability, trust and confidence, strong goal setting, as well as the concrete, tangible effects, like improved physical health, school grades, goal-reaching in general, as well as financial stability," he wrote.
Everyone who's left the program has done so voluntarily, Ureche said. They told the researchers they're confident they can take care of themselves, and they want others to have the same opportunity they did.