🔍 Read the full analysis: What Can Basic Income Teach Us About Preparing For AI? on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
Get smart everyday buys delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for resident citizens, and approved a larger budget for its second year. The program shows how a nationwide cash payment can be delivered, but there is no published evaluation of its effects—and its funding model does not establish how richer countries could pay for income support tied to AI-related job change.
The Marshall Islands has completed a year of quarterly basic-income payments to resident citizens and approved a larger budget for the program’s second year, offering a live example of nationwide cash support as other countries debate how to respond to possible AI-related disruption to work. But no published evaluation yet shows what Enra has changed, and its trust-fund financing is not a tested model for larger economies.
The program, officially called the Individual Support Distribution and known as Enra, began paying residents on November 26, 2025. Four payments were made between November 2025 and August 2026. The final payment was $215.85 per person to 40,714 people, according to the program administrator cited by the Marshall Islands Journal. President Hilda Heine said recipients represented more than 95% of the resident population.
Eligibility covers Marshallese citizens living in the country, including children, without a means test or work requirement. Citizens living abroad are excluded. Enra divides a fixed pool of money among eligible people, so the amount per recipient can change as enrollment changes. After registrations increased, an early 2026 payment fell to about $160; a $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise later payments to roughly $200 or more. The source estimates residents received about $780 over the first year.
On September 18, 2026, parliament passed a budget allocating $32.5 million to Enra and a separate $3.2 million top-up. The previous year’s allocation was $27.6 million. The program is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, which was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026. The International Monetary Fund estimated Enra’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and urged the government to replace it with a targeted program at the first feasible opportunity.
Infographic 01 · Enra, the first year
Four payments, one fixed pot
How the Marshall Islands paid a basic income to almost every resident citizen between November 2025 and August 2026.
- Nov 2025First payment: $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. MISSA had enrolled 33,119 by 30 Sep 2025.Launch ceremony in Majuro, 26 Nov
- End Mar 2026About $160. Delayed a month to vet new registrations and residence. More than 37,000 registered, same fixed budget.Citizens away more than 3 months are removed from the list, with exceptions
- End May 2026About $200 again, thanks to a $3.2 million World Bank grant ($1.6 million per quarter). More than 41,000 on the eligible list.Pushed by the president over fuel and food prices
- Aug 2026$215.85 to 40,714 people. Fewer paper checks than in earlier rounds.MISSA administrator to the Marshall Islands Journal
Payment per person, year one
US dollars per quarter · March and May rounded as reported
Why the amount moves
- Enra is a fixed annual budget shared equally among everyone eligible that quarter.
- More registrations mean a smaller share unless the budget grows.
- Roughly $780 per person in year one, about 12% of GDP per person (IMF: $6,417, FY2023). My arithmetic.
Sources: Marshall Islands Journal (27 Nov 2025, 26 Feb, 22 May, 6 Aug, 27 Aug 2026) · IMF, 10 Sep 2025. March and May amounts as reported (“about”).
Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
What Enra Can Show AI Planners
Enra gives policymakers a practical case to examine: a government has made regular payments available to nearly all of a country’s resident citizens, rather than limiting support to a small trial group. Its first year offers evidence about reach, enrollment, payment schedules and delivery choices. It also shows a design trade-off: when the total budget is fixed, adding eligible people reduces each person’s share unless more money is added.
Those operational lessons may matter to countries considering income support if AI changes employment or wages. They do not establish that basic income would offset job losses, improve household security, or produce better outcomes than targeted benefits. The source reports that no evaluation of Enra has been published, so the program’s effects on poverty, work, prices or wellbeing remain unknown. Its funding source also differs from the tax systems and public budgets that would be involved in larger, wealthier countries.
Popular right now
Vitamix 5200 Professional-Grade Blender, 64 oz. Container, Black
Bose QuietComfort True Wireless Earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation, Black
Dyson Ball Animal 3 Upright Vacuum
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How the Marshall Islands Pays
Enra’s name refers to a Marshallese basket used for sharing food. The Ministry of Finance calls it the world’s first country-wide, long-term universal basic-income program; that is the government’s characterization. Payments can be made by check, bank deposit or a phone wallet called Lomalo. The digital option is intended in part to address the difficulty of reaching residents on outer islands, where mailed checks can take weeks and bank branches are concentrated on Majuro and Ebeye.
The wallet has attracted attention because it can deliver a digital token called USDM1. The finance ministry describes USDM1 as a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasury securities and rejects describing it as a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin. The number of Enra recipients using the wallet has not been published, so its role in delivering the benefit cannot yet be assessed from available figures.
The program also differs from short-term basic-income trials elsewhere. It is a national policy, but its continued scale depends on decisions about the trust fund and the annual budget. That distinction matters for AI discussions: a durable national payment and a temporary pilot can answer different questions, while neither automatically predicts outcomes in another country.
What Year One Cannot Yet Answer
The central evidence gap is the absence of a published evaluation. Available figures document who received payments and how amounts shifted, but not whether Enra changed poverty, household spending, employment, health or other outcomes. It is also unclear how many residents use Lomalo rather than checks or bank deposits.
The program’s future financing and payment levels are not settled by the current budget alone. Enra’s fixed pool means future amounts may vary with enrollment and any additional funding. The source describes a larger second-year allocation, but does not provide a completed assessment of the trust fund’s long-term ability to support the program. Nor does the Marshall Islands experience establish how a basic-income plan would perform in a larger economy facing AI-related changes in work.
Second-Year Funding and Evaluation
The next near-term development is delivery of the second-year allocation approved in September. Future quarterly payments should show how the government handles enrollment, funding and per-person amounts after the first year. The available source does not identify a schedule for a formal impact evaluation or report a commitment to publish one.
For readers tracking AI policy, the key evidence to watch is not only whether payments continue, but whether researchers assess their effects and whether the government clarifies long-term financing. Until then, Enra is a useful case of nationwide payment administration—not proof that basic income is an effective response to AI-related employment disruption.
Key Questions
What is Enra?
Enra is the Marshall Islands’ Individual Support Distribution, a quarterly payment for Marshallese citizens living in the country. It has no means test or work requirement and includes children.
How much did residents receive in the first year?
The payment varied by quarter as the eligible list and available funding changed. The final August 2026 payment was $215.85 per person for 40,714 people; the source estimates roughly $780 per resident over the full year.
How is the program funded?
Enra is funded through a trust fund created under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, with additional support including a $3.2 million World Bank grant in its first year.
Does Enra show that basic income can address AI job losses?
No. It shows that a small country can administer recurring payments at national scale, but no published evaluation establishes Enra’s effects, and its results cannot by themselves predict what would happen in larger economies facing AI-related job changes.
What remains unknown about the program?
There is no published assessment of Enra’s effects on poverty, work or household wellbeing. The number of users of the Lomalo phone wallet and the program’s long-term funding outlook also remain unclear in the source material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
