What Are The Relative Macroeconomic Merits And Environmental Impacts Of Direct Job Creation And Basic Income Guarantees?

There is a body of literature that favors universal and unconditional public assurance policies over those that are targeted and means-tested. Two such proposals - the basic income proposal and job guarantees - are discussed here. The paper evaluates the impact of each program on macroeconomic stability, arguing that direct job creation has inherent stabilization features that are lacking in the basic income proposal. A discussion of modern finance and labor market dynamics renders the latter proposal inherently inflationary, and potentially stagflationary.