FAIR invites you to a seminar with Johannes Haushofer, Associate professor of economics at the Stockholm University. He is interested in understanding whether poverty has particular psychological and neurobiological consequences, and whether these consequences, in turn, affect economic behavior.
The Comparative Impact of Cash Transfers and a Psychoteraphy Program on Psychological and Economic Well-being
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 inter- ventions 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.