This weekend Switzerland will hold a referendum on whether the citizens should be entitled to receive a basic income of Sfr30,000 per year, even if they choose not to work. The motion is expected to be soundly defeated but that doesn’t mean that the debate will not be revived. One reason is that there remains a real possibility in the future that automation means economies creating fewer and fewer jobs leading to large scale unemployment. That’s another reason to believe that helicopter money, which is already being considered as a response to deflationary pressure and weak consumer demand could dovetail with the concept of basic income. Guy Foster and Ben Gutteridge explore these issues.

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