Seoul’s income trial offers dignity, choice: UK professor

What happened: Abigail Davis, a professor at Loughborough University, told The Korea Herald that Seoul's Stepping Stone Income project offers dignity and choice by giving recipients cash rather than vouchers, and said evaluation should look beyond income and employment figures. Key numbers: Eligibility required Why it matters: Davis said the pilot's holistic approach recognizes that income alone does not capture people's ability to maintain connections with family, friends and community, and she noted that careful thought is needed about who is excluded and what happens once support ends.

Abigail Davis, a professor at Loughborough University, told The Korea Herald that Seoul's Stepping Stone Income project offers dignity and choice by giving recipients cash rather than vouchers, and said evaluation should look beyond income and employment figures.

Davis said the pilot's holistic approach recognizes that income alone does not capture people's ability to maintain connections with family, friends and community, and she noted that careful thought is needed about who is excluded and what happens once support ends.