ArticleThe World Bank research observer2018
Myth-Busting? Confronting Six Common Perceptions about Unconditional Cash Transfers as a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Africa.
Article in The World Bank research observer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Social safety nets, women's economic achievements and agency in 45 countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature human behaviour · 2026Pooled 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
- Unconditional cash transfers and maternal substance use: findings from a randomized control trial of low-income mothers with infants in the U.S.BMC public health · 2022Trial
- Population-Level Impact of Risk Factors on Stunting Among Children Under Five in Sub-Saharan Africa (2015-2022).Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Article
- Annual Research Review: Cash transfer programs and young people's mental health - a review of studies in the United States.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Review
- Accelerators to reduce violence, HIV risk, and early pregnancy among adolescents and young people in Namibia: A cross-sectional analysis of the Violence Against Children & Youth Survey.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Baltimore community resident and collaborator perspectives on the influence of guaranteed income on health: a formative qualitative study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Impact of Old Age Pension Eligibility on Alcohol Consumption: Evidence From a Population-Based Study in Rural South Africa.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- The Impact of the Older Person's Grant Expansion on Hypertension Among Older Men in Rural South Africa: Findings From the HAALSI Cohort.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- A review of mental health disparities during COVID-19: Evidence, mechanisms, and policy recommendations for promoting societal resilience.Development and psychopathology · 2023Review
- Can a gender-sensitive integrated poultry value chain and nutrition intervention increase women's empowerment among the rural poor in Burkina Faso?Journal of rural studies · 2023Article
- Empower People… With Money.International journal of public health · 2023Article
- The role of food preferences in determining diet quality for Tanzanian consumers.Journal of development economics · 2022Article
- Food insecurity and men's perpetration of partner violence in a longitudinal cohort in South Africa.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2022Article
- Cash Transfers, Microentrepreneurial Activity, and Child Work: Evidence from Malawi and Zambia.The World Bank economic review · 2020Article
- A Cash Plus Program Reduces Youth Exposure to Physical Violence in Zimbabwe.World development · 2020Article
- The public health effects of interventions similar to basic income: a scoping review.The Lancet. Public health · 2020Article
- The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer on Multidimensional Deprivation of Young Women: Evidence from South Africa's HTPN 068.Social indicators research · 2020Article
- Cash Transfers, Early Marriage, and Fertility in Malawi and Zambia.Studies in family planning · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This paper summarizes evidence on six perceptions associated with cash transfer programming, using eight rigorous evaluations conducted on large-scale government unconditional cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa under the Transfer Project. Specifically, it investigates if transfers: 1) induce higher spending on alcohol or tobacco; 2) are fully consumed (rather than invested); 3) create dependency (reduce participation in productive activities); 4) increase fertility; 5) lead to negative community-level economic impacts (including price distortion and inflation); and 6) are fiscally unsustainable. The paper presents evidence refuting each claim, leading to the conclusion that these perceptions-insofar as they are utilized in policy debates-undercut potential improvements in well-being and livelihood strengthening among the poor, which these programs can bring about in sub-Saharan Africa, and globally. It concludes by underscoring outstanding research gaps and policy implications for the continued expansion of unconditional cash transfers in the region and beyond.
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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.