In the research, 107 people were paid €1,200 (about RM5,900) a month for three years with no obligation to work, and were compared against a control group of 1,580 people who received no such payment.

The study, the biggest to be conducted into universal basic income (UBI) in Germany, found that the group receiving the payments were also no more likely to withdraw from the labour market.

They also reported higher life satisfaction and a greater feeling of control over their lives, according to the study published by the German Institute for Economic Research.

On average, participants receiving the money spent about four hours more on social activities a week than those who did not, with the researchers writing that this might be linked to the extra cash in their pockets.

“Social activities are often accompanied by expenses, be it for visits to restaurants, cinema tickets or joint leisure activities,” they noted.

Improvements lasted for the duration of the study, the researchers said, but participants receiving the UBI showed no change when it came to their political convictions or psychological traits such as willingness to take risks.

“Study participants acted differently not because their core personalities changed, but because their possibilities changed,” said psychologist Susann Fiedler from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, one of the study’s authors.

About a third of the monthly income was saved on average, with those getting the money generally saving twice as much as the control group.

Though similar ideas have long been discussed, UBI in Europe has been more seriously considered as a policy proposal in recent years as fears grow that the rise of artificial intelligence will lead to mass unemployment.

In 2017 and 2018, a study into UBI in Finland found similarly positive effects for wellbeing.