Finland is to introduce a basic income for some citizens from next month, becoming the first ‎country to adopt the policy.‎

Two thousand unemployed people will be given €560 (£480) every month for two years, without ‎any restrictions or conditions attached. Leaders hope the move will improve life quality, reduce ‎unemployment and create jobs.‎

Recipients will not need to prove they are looking for work and the money will be given regardless ‎of any other income the person earns.‎

The Finnish government is planning to study whether the policy helps recipients find work. It ‎suspects many unemployed people are put off getting a job because they will lose unemployment ‎benefits and therefore be worse off financially – a similar problem to that which tax credits were ‎designed to solve in the UK.‎

The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health said in a statement:  “The Government proposes ‎the implementation of a basic income experiment. The experiment [will] be carried out in 2017 and ‎‎2018, and its aim is to show whether basic income can be used to reform social security so that ‎incentive traps relating to work are eliminated.‎

“The primary goal of the basic income experiment is related to promoting employment. The ‎experiment, including follow-up research, aims to find out whether basic income promotes ‎employment."‎

The 2,000 unemployed people will be selected at random. They will not have a choice as to ‎whether they take part in the trial but will automatically be given the money each month.‎

If successful, the experiment could lead to a basic income being given to more Finnish people.‎

A number of other countries are believed to be exploring the idea of a universal basic income. ‎Earlier this year the Swiss government held a referendum on whether to pay every citizen around ‎‎2,500 Swiss francs (£2,000) per month, but the policy was decisively rejected by Swiss voters.‎

In the UK, John McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, has expressed support for a universal ‎basic income but the Conservatives have called it "unaffordable".

There are different variations of a universal basic income but the core principle is the government ‎giving everyone a certain amount of money each month.

Supporters of the idea claim it will enable people to work less if they choose to, reduce inequality ‎and cut total welfare spending.‎

Others say it is likely to be excessively expensive and disincentivise hard work.

Source: Independent webpage