Abstract:
The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend program has attracted considerable interest
because it is a unique example of a BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE. In this paper, I
describe the structure of the dividend program, its economic effects, some of its unintended
consequences; and I close with a number of observations about how the dividend might
be structured differently. My objective is to give the reader insights into the factors to
consider in implementing a BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE in other places.
However, before beginning it is important to present a short description of Alaska because
the structure of any BASIC INCOME program and its impacts are contingent upon the
particular institutional, economic, political, and social environment in which it is located.
Alaska is the largest of the 50 United States measured by land area—but among the
smallest measured by population. Its 700 thousand residents comprise only about twotenths
of one percent of the total U.S. population. As a state within the United States, its
border is open to the rest of the nation for the free movement of goods and services, people,
capital, and information. Furthermore, it is subject to the laws, regulations, and policies
established by the federal government. As I will discuss below, these connections create
some challenges for the dividend program because the state cannot totally control its own
economic and political environment.
