Working Paper: NBER ID: w28106
Authors: Johannes Haushofer; Robert Mudida; Jeremy P. Shapiro
Abstract: We study the economic and psychological effects of a USD 1076 PPP unconditional cash transfer, a five-week psychotherapy program, and the combination of both interventions among 5,756 individuals in rural Kenya. One year after the interventions, cash transfer recipients had higher consumption, asset holdings, and revenue, as well as higher levels of psychological well-being than control households. In contrast, the psychotherapy program had no measurable effects on either psychological or economic outcomes, both for individuals with poor mental health at baseline and others. The effects of the combined treatment are similar to those of the cash transfer alone.
Keywords: cash transfers; psychotherapy; psychological wellbeing; economic wellbeing
JEL Codes: C93; D90; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cash Transfer (F16) | Monthly Consumption (D10) |
| Cash Transfer (F16) | Asset Holdings (G19) |
| Cash Transfer (F16) | Household Revenue (D19) |
| Cash Transfer (F16) | Psychological Well-Being (I31) |
| Cash Transfer (F16) | GHQ-12 Mental Health Questionnaire Scores (I31) |
| Psychotherapy Program (I11) | Monthly Consumption (D10) |
| Psychotherapy Program (I11) | Asset Holdings (G19) |
| Psychotherapy Program (I11) | Psychological Well-Being (I31) |
| Combined Treatment (CTPM) (C32) | Monthly Consumption (D10) |
| Combined Treatment (CTPM) (C32) | Asset Holdings (G19) |
| Combined Treatment (CTPM) (C32) | Household Revenue (D19) |
| Combined Treatment (CTPM) (C32) | Psychological Well-Being (I31) |
| Combined Treatment (CTPM) (C32) | GHQ-12 Mental Health Questionnaire Scores (I31) |