Cash transfer and a psychological intervention: Impact on alcohol outcomes and household welfare in India

Joseph Ugbede Ejima; Parmod Kumar; Arjunan Subramanian

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118358

Cash transfer and a psychological intervention: Impact on alcohol outcomes and household welfare in India

Soc Sci Med. 2025 Jul 2:382:118358. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118358. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Joseph Ugbede Ejima¹, Parmod Kumar², Arjunan Subramanian³

Affiliations

¹ Economics, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. Electronic address: Joseph.Ejima@glasgow.ac.uk.
² Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India.
³ Economics, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

PMID: 40617015
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118358

Abstract

This study uses a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the short-term effects of an alcohol remission program in rural Punjab, India. Participants were assigned to one of four experimental groups: (i) daily vouchers for 30 days, (ii) five psychological counselling sessions, (iii) a combination of both, or (iv) a control group. We evaluated the impact of these treatments on alcohol consumption, household welfare, and psychological well-being. Results indicate that psychological counselling significantly reduced alcohol consumption and improved psychological well-being and household welfare. However, when combined with unconditional cash transfers, the effectiveness of psychological counselling diminished, resulting in a null effect on alcohol consumption. This paradox suggests that while psychological interventions foster self-regulation and behavioural change, introducing cash transfers may weaken intrinsic motivation or enable unintended spending patterns.

Keywords: Alcohol; Psychological counselling; Randomized controlled trial; Unconditional cash transfer.