Work

The Psychology of Poverty: A Replication Based on Zimbabwe's Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: We perform a scientific replication of a recent paper in this journal that reports evidence from Malawi that an unconditional cash transfer programme affects psychological states, such as life satisfaction and subjective well-being, as well as economic decisions involving intertemporal choice. Using data from Zimbabwe, we find similar results. Together, these two studies are the first from outside a laboratory setting that support the idea that poverty can have psychological effects that in turn influence intertemporal choice in a way that perpetuates poverty. These results, if found to hold in diverse settings, open up the policy space for a broader range of interventions that could reduce the number of people living in poverty. As this is a relatively new idea in economics with important policy implications, replicating these results in other settings is important before they can be widely generalised.

Source: Journal of African Economies

DOI: 10.1093/jae/ejad013

Authors: Marwa Ibrahim, Yunwei Chen, Audrey Pereira, Takondwa Musa, Dharini Bathia, Sudhanshu Handa

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,049