SynthesisNature human behaviour2022
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.
Synthesis in Nature human behaviour, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 7 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
67 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 162 citations in OpenAlex.
- Social safety nets, women's economic achievements and agency in 45 countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature human behaviour · 2026Pooled it
- Poverty-reduction interventions combined with psychological interventions: A systematic literature review.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Do cash transfers alleviate common mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of employment programs on common mental disorders: A systematic review.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- 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
- Unconditional cash transfers for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities: effect on use of health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- The impact of cash transfers on mental health in children and young people in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects of unconditional cash transfers on family processes and wellbeing among mothers with low incomes.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- The impact of cash incentives on mental health among adults initiating antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania.AIDS care · 2024Trial
- Unconditional cash transfers reduce homelessness.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Trial
- Costs and cost-effectiveness of Shamiri, a brief, layperson-delivered intervention for Kenyan adolescents: a randomized controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2023Trial
- Social network structure and depression by gender in rural Honduras: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2026Observational
- The impacts of peace and conflict resolution interventions on mental health and psychological well-being: a systematic review.Conflict and health · 2026Review
- Depressive symptoms mediate the longitudinal link between sleep duration and subjective well-being in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Linking climate change, global mental health and structural interventions: opportunities for research and action.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- The Wishes, Perceived Barriers, and Support Needs of People Living in Persistent Poverty.Qualitative health research · 2026Article
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies testing effects of cash transfers on child cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development in low- or middle income countries.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- The COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the psychological well-being of people with disabilities in Cambodia.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Gender-specific economic interventions for women's mental health and well-being in South Asia: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly recognized as a scalable intervention to alleviate financial hardship. A large body of evidence evaluates the impact of CTs on subjective well-being (SWB) and mental health (MH) in low- and middle-income countries. We undertook a systematic review, quality appraisal and meta-analysis of 45 studies examining the impact of CTs on self-reported SWB and MH outcomes, covering a sample of 116,999 individuals. After an average follow-up time of two years, we find that CTs have a small but statistically significant positive effect on both SWB (Cohen's d = 0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09, 0.18) and MH (d = 0.07, 95% CI 0.05, 0.09) among recipients. CT value, both relative to previous income and in absolute terms, is a strong predictor of the effect size. Based on this review and the large body of existing research demonstrating a positive impact of CTs on other outcomes (for example, health and income), there is evidence to suggest that CTs improve lives. To enable comparisons of the relative efficacy of CTs to improve MH and SWB, future research should meta-analyse the effects of alternative interventions in similar contexts.
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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 Socratic graph.