Applicability of the universal basic income in Türkiye: A perspective from institutional economics

This doctoral dissertation presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary analysis that examines the applicability of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in Türkiye through the lens of institutional economics. The study evaluates UBI as an alternative welfare institution in the context of rising income and opportunity inequality, technological transformation in the labor market, the spread of precarious forms of employment, and the fragmented, conditional, and high–transaction-cost structure of the current social assistance regime. By theoretically distinguishing UBI's foundational principles, universality, individuality, unconditionality, adequacy, and periodicity, the dissertation demonstrates the extent to which UBI embodies a transformative shift in architecture of social rights and institutional design of the welfare state. The historical–theoretical section analyzes the intellectual evolution of UBI across four distinct waves, presenting a broad theoretical framework that spans from Paine's and Spence's natural-resource–based rights perspective to Friedman's negative income tax, Martin Luther King Jr.'s equality-oriented income guarantee, and the contemporary BIEN movement. The subsequent section conducts a comparative analysis of the Manitoba, Finland, Stockton, Kenya, and Gyeonggi experiments, systematically evaluating their methodological designs, institutional contexts, and findings. These experiments are assessed in terms of their multidimensional impacts on employment behavior, psychological well-being, education, health, social participation, and bureaucratic efficiency. In the theoretical synthesis section, North's transaction-cost approach, Ostrom's principles of collective action and governance, and Acemoglu and Robinson's distinction between inclusive and extractive institutions are linked to the question of UBI's applicability, thereby strengthening the dissertation's theoretical foundations. The Türkiye-focused chapter provides a comprehensive assessment of potential UBI effects by examining institutional gaps in the current structure, vulnerabilities in the labor market, intra-household power dynamics, and the broader political-economic environment. The study concludes that UBI has the potential to reduce poverty, enhance social equality, improve institutional effectiveness, and establish economic security on a sustainable basis. At the same time, it proposes a multilayered policy roadmap, including pilot programs, legal harmonization, and governance reforms, as necessary conditions for implementation.