Apoyo de las personas indígenas ecuatorianas a la Renta Básica Universal.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global health, economic and social crisis. According to ECLAC, in Ecuador the crisis mainly affected indigenous peoples and nationalities. Among the consequences derived from the COVID-19 virus pandemic, we can mention the increase in unemployment, inequality, poverty and thousands of deaths. For these reasons, some organizations, such as ECLAC and the UN, have promoted the implementation of economic support to cover people’s basic needs and as an alternative to counteract the effects of the crisis. The Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a monetary amount paid by the State to all members of a country periodically and without any conditions. In the present investigation, the factors that influence the approval of a UBI by indigenous people who live in the provinces of Chimborazo, Imbabura, Cotopaxi and Bolívar are analyzed. Since Ecuador does not have open or private data on the acceptance of the UBI, a self-developed survey was applied. With the data collected, three models were estimated: logit, probit and the linear probability model (MPL) with the purpose of identifying the factors that influence the approval of a UBI. Among the main results, it can be noted that the majority of respondents had no prior knowledge of the UBI. However, after learning about this policy, those most inclined to support it are those who agree to assume an additional tax burden for the purpose of financing said UBI.