ArticleSSM - population health2018
Does money buy happiness? Evidence from an unconditional cash transfer in Zambia.
Article in SSM - population health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2022Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of cash transfers on subjective well-being and mental health in low- and middle-income countries.Nature human behaviour · 2022Pooled it
- Pregnancy Loss and Women's Mental Health in Zambia: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based and Spatial Analysis Using 2023-2024 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey Data.Health science reports · 2026Article
- "When I Can Make Them Smile": Cash Transfers and the Joys of Mothering in the Context of Poverty.Journal of policy analysis and management : [the journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management] · 2026Article
- Barriers to care and internalized gender stigma among women in Zambia: a DHS-based analysis of psychosocial vulnerability.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Cash transfer, maternal and child health outcomes: a scoping review in sub-Saharan Africa.Global health action · 2024Article
- Implications of Cash Transfer Programs for Mental Health Promotion among Families Facing Significant Stressors: Using Ecological Systems Theory to Explain Successes of Conditional and Unconditional Programs.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Systematic Review on the Impact of Various Types of Universal Basic Income on Mental Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Exploring health equity in Lesotho's Child Grants Programme.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- Exploring economic empowerment and gender issues in Lesotho's Child Grants Programme: a qualitative study.Health policy and planning · 2024Review
- Modeling the effects of physical activity, education, health, and subjective wealth on happiness based on Indonesian national survey data.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Trends in the utilization of psychotropic medications in China from 2018 to 2021.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Associations of Sustainable Development Goals Accelerators With Adolescents' Well-Being According to Head-of-Household's Disability Status-A Cross-Sectional Study From Zambia.International journal of public health · 2022Article
- A systematic review of the impact of psychosocial factors on immunity: Implications for enhancing BCG response against tuberculosis.SSM - population health · 2020Review
- Assessing mental health in a context of extreme poverty: Validation of the rosenberg self-esteem scale in rural Haiti.PloS one · 2020Article
- Analysis of Factors Affecting the High Subjective Well-Being of Chinese Residents Based on the 2014 China Family Panel Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Social determinants and BCG efficacy: a call for a socio-biological approach to TB prevention.F1000Research · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The relationship between happiness and income has been at the center of a vibrant debate, with both intrinsic and instrumental importance, as emotional states are an important determinant of health and social behavior. We investigate whether a government-run unconditional cash transfer paid directly to women in poor households had an impact on self-reported happiness. The evaluation was designed as a cluster-randomized controlled trial in rural Zambia across 90 communities. The program led to a 7.5 to 10 percentage point impact on women's happiness after 36- and 48-months, respectively (or 0.19-0.25 standard deviations over the control group mean). In addition, women have higher overall satisfaction regarding their young children's well-being, including indicators of satisfaction with their children's health and positive outlook on their children's future. Complementary analysis suggests that self-assessed relative poverty (as measured by comparison to other households in the community) is a more important mediator of program effects on happiness than absolute poverty (as measured by household consumption expenditures). Although typically not the focus of such evaluations, impacts on psychosocial indicators, including happiness, should not be discounted as important outcomes, as they capture different, non-material, holistic aspects of an individual's overall level of well-being.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.