Cash transfer and a psychological intervention

Impact on alcohol outcomes and household welfare in India

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4594850
AutoresJoseph Ugbede Ejima (0009-0000-8005-5295, Adam Smith Institute), Parmod Kumar (0000-0003-1090-4671, Institute for Social and Economic Change), Ajantha Subramanian (0000-0002-0477-3786, University of Glasgow)
Año2025
Volumen382
Páginas118358
Fecha de publicación2025-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
EditorialElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118358
PMID40617015
OpenAlexW4411956368
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas39

This study uses a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the short-term effects of an alcohol remission program in rural Punjab, India. Participants were assigned to one of four experimental groups: (i) daily vouchers for 30 days, (ii) five psychological counselling sessions, (iii) a combination of both, or (iv) a control group. We evaluated the impact of these treatments on alcohol consumption, household welfare, and psychological well-being. Results indicate that psychological counselling significantly reduced alcohol consumption and improved psychological well-being and household welfare. However, when combined with unconditional cash transfers, the effectiveness of psychological counselling diminished, resulting in a null effect on alcohol consumption. This paradox suggests that while psychological interventions foster self-regulation and behavioural change, introducing cash transfers may weaken intrinsic motivation or enable unintended spending patterns

Cash · Cash transfers · Demographic economics · Economics · Environmental health · Intervention (counseling · Psychiatry · Welfare · Employment and Welfare Studies · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Finance