Pilotprojekt Grundeinkommen was a three-year randomized controlled trial in Germany in which 122 people received EUR 1,200 a month unconditionally, compared against a control group of about 1,580. It is notable as the first large basic income study financed entirely by private crowdfunding rather than state funding, initiated by Mein Grundeinkommen with the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
None (fiat)
Private crowdfunding - donations raised by Mein Grundeinkommen from tens of thousands of small donors. Explicitly designed not to rely on state funding.
Research consortium: DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research) with the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB); operationally run by Mein Grundeinkommen e.V.
Initiated by Mein Grundeinkommen (Michael Bohmeyer); research led by DIW Berlin
Payments ran for three years from mid-2021. Data collection and analysis are complete; results have been published in a DIW Weekly Report and peer-reviewed well-being papers, with the design pre-registered in the AEA Social Science Registry. No payments continue.
- Headline findings: employment did not fall; recipients made more autonomous choices about work and education; mental health and life satisfaction improved; savings and material security rose.
- Strong example of a privately financed alternative to a state pilot - directly relevant to the owner's non-state framing.
- Closely tied to Mein Grundeinkommen (also listed here); the owner may want to link the two records.