Masters of Commerce / Rwanda is characterised as a low-income country amongst the poorest on the African continent.Poverty in Rwanda has been persistent for a long period of time and it was made worse by the genocide that took place in 1994 and claimed over a million people. Although a variety of social policies, both home-grown and foreign, have been adopted since 1994 by the government of Rwanda to try and alleviate poverty, none has up to now succeeded to get rid of the povertyconflict trap, partly because they are all means tested. It should be noted here that Rwanda’s situation needs a universal approach in order to help ameliorate the current poverty level which is now at 60 percent, and the rising inequality. The researcher, when investigating a universal approach to use, suggested that a UIG could be the appropriate social policy option for Rwanda.Rwanda has set itself goals through its Vision 2020 and the EDPRS to have changed the country’s position by the year 2020 from being categorised as a low-income country into a middle-income country like South Africa. However, for this to be possible, economic growth must be robust. An annual growth rate of 7 percent needs to be maintained. It also means that the current per capita annual income of $290 needs to be increased to $900. The researcher concurs with these developmental goals but at the same time cautions policy makers that although growth is necessary, it should not crowd out redistributive justice.There seems to be a strong argument that development approaches which focus on income transfers are more prudent in attaining economic development and poverty reduction than those whose sole intention is to attain economic growth. Although policies that pursue economic growth usually lead to inequalities in the societies, governments should take it upon themselves to ensure that there are also counter measures that will reduce poverty at the same time.The researcher in this dissertation advocates for a universal income grant financed by an increase in indirect taxes supplemented by foreign aid as the best approach towards poverty alleviation in Rwanda. It must be noted that dependency on foreign aid is not sustainable in the long-term.There is a need to come up with measures of utilizing the already existing foreign aid in alleviating poverty and also to take care of future uncertainties when the foreign aid has been stopped.In order for Rwanda to break out of the poverty–conflict trap, it needs to adopt social policies that are geared towards alleviating poverty and assuring growth. A UIG was chosen as a social policy option that is capable of alleviating poverty.This research had three major aims. First of all it shows the possible impact of a universal income grant (UIG) in as far as the alleviation of poverty in Rwanda is concerned. Secondly it considers how a part of the existing foreign aid could be channelled into a UIG for all, with the funding effectively being recouped from those who do need support by an increase in the indirect taxes, e.g. in VAT. Thirdly develops a micro-simulation model which could show the impact of the combination of a UIG, partly being financed out of foreign aid and partly by the increases in indirect taxes, on poverty and income distribution in Rwanda. It is clear from the analysis that if the UIG is introduced in Rwanda it will have a multiplier effect when it develops social capital,stimulate aggregate spending, increase economic activity, bring investor confidence, promote economic growth and job creation and in the end alleviate poverty.

La décentralisation des compétences en matière d’aide sociale depuis trois décennies maintenant aboutit-elle à une inégalité de traitement de ses bénéficiaires, accentuée par un phénomène de territorialisation du droit? Pourtant, la France, État unitaire, dont l’organisation est décentralisée, reste le pays des droits de l’Homme dont la devise Républicaine donne une place centrale à l’égalité en l’encadrant des mots liberté et fraternité. S’il est vrai que le pouvoir normatif de l’État central est toujours d’actualité puisqu’il fixe les règles concernant les prestations d’aide sociale légale, il n’en n’est pas moins vrai que les collectivités territoriales disposent également d’un pouvoir d’appréciation non négligeable quant aux conditions d’attribution des aides et de mise en œuvre des actions dans le domaine social. À telle enseigne, que l’on pourrait croire que l’État en se retirant progressivement du domaine de l’aide sociale dans lequel, d’ailleurs, il ne dispose plus que de compétences résiduelles, a peut-être perdu une partie de ses pouvoirs réels. Le grand gardien de la cause de l’égalité qu’est le Conseil Constitutionnel invoque la possibilité de créer des inégalités de traitement. Sommes-nous en train d’évoluer vers une autre forme d’État ? Ou alors faut-il reconnaitre que pour mieux répondre aux besoins sociaux, il faut admettre un traitement différencié des situations à l’instar de tout système de discrimination positive. / The processing’s inequality of social security benefit’s recipients according to their place of residence. Does the decentralization of skills regarding social security benefit, for three decades now, ends to a processing’s inequality of beneficiairies stressed by a territorialisation’s phenomenon of the law? Nevertheless, France, unitarian State, which organization is decentralized, remains the country of the human rights which republican slogan gives a central place to equality with the words of freedom and brotherhood. If it is true that the normative power of the central State is still the actuality by fixing rules concerning the services of social security, it is not less true that regions with a measure of autonomy also have a power of appreciation for the conditions of social security’s allocation and implementation of these actions. In such case, we could believe that the State by withdrawing gradually from the social assistance’s domain, in which he no longer had residual skills, maybe lost a part of its real powers. The “big guardian” of the equality’s cause, the Constitutional Council, refers to the possibility of creating processing inequalities. Are we developing to another shape of State? Or is it necessary to recognize that to answer to the social needs, we have to admit a differentiated processing by the situations following the example of any system of positive discrimination.

The master's thesis Universal basic income as a political concept and unfulfilled social reality puts focus on the concept of universalism in social policy and the possibilities of introducing its elements in the Czech Republic. The global discussion of the philosophy of social support and the popularised idea of unconditional financial transfers from the state to all citizens are thus translated into the Czech environment. The goal is to evaluate the instances hitherto applied at home and abroad, consider the perks and shortcomings of universal income, set the discussion within the contemporary Czech social framework, and assess whether it is realistic to implement reforms of this kind. The first chapter describes universal income as a concept, the second evaluates the history of universalism in the Czech Republic, the third provides an overview of the current Czech social system, and the fourth ponders possible avenues of implementing universalist reforms. The thesis aims to verify two hypotheses: the first one is to determine to which extent previous forms of universalism in the Czech environment proved to be successful; the second deals with the possibility and merits of introducing further blanket instruments in 2020. In both cases, the research puts emphasis on cash transfers to the...