The world economy risks recession, driven by the growing COVID-19 pandemic. Amid a global public health emergency, UBI and UBI-like interventions can be considered as part of a one-off stimulus package of policies to ameliorate its economic effects, while avoiding the heavier financial burden usually associated with UBI.

This Issue Brief reviews previous UNDP research on UBI in the context of China, as well as the potential for applications of UBI as a policy option for COVID-19 recovery.