Gsbt

Chris Weller EBay founder and chairman Pierre Omidyar in Delaware, December 7, 2009. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment arm started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar,  has invested  $493,000 into an experiment giving people in Kenya free money. The experiment, put on by the charity GiveDirectly, tests an up-and-coming solution to poverty known as basic income. People under basic income receive a set amount of money on a regular basis to cover expenses like rent, food, and clothing. GiveDirectly is running a small pilot in just a few Kenyan villages at present, but once the full experiment launches in a few months it will be the largest basic income experiment in history. More than 26,000 people will receive free money in some form, whether it's for a period of 12 years, just a couple, or in a lump sum or spread out. Not much long-term research on basic income exists, but the studies that have been performed  suggest only good comes ...