Two New Studies on the Health Impacts of Cash Transfers

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Smith, Katherine (2024) Two New Studies on the Health Impacts of Cash Transfers. Scottish Health Equity Research Unit, Glasgow. (https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00090376)

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Abstract

This short briefing looks at two studies published in July 2024 that looked at how giving cash to people with low incomes affects their health [1,2]. Both studies were conducted in the USA but in different states, and both used a Randomized Control Trial design, which is considered highly robust. Interestingly, the studies came to different conclusions. One study, conducted near Boston, Massachusetts, concluded, ‘that policies that seek to alleviate poverty by providing income support may have important benefits for health and access to care’. In contrast, researchers examining the cash transfer programme in Illinois and Texas concluded that, ‘directly reducing poverty via cash transfers was not effective at improving health outcomes’. Since existing evidence shows there is a strong (albeit complex) relationship between poverty and health, and since previous studies of cash transfers in the USA have identified positive health impacts [4, 5], the findings of the second study are surprising. In this brief, we consider why two similar studies reached such different conclusions and explore whether there are any useful insights for Scotland.

ORCID iDs

Smith, Katherine ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1060-4102;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)