[Josh Martin]
In this blog Evans tackles the age-old assumption that giving cash to the poor would result in an uptick in alcohol and tobacco consumption. Evans cites 19 studies and comes to the conclusion that cash transfer programs (both conditional and unconditional) do not lead to significant increases in alcohol and tobacco consumption.
David Evans, “Do the Poor Waste Transfers on Booze and Cigarettes? No”, The World Bank, 27 May 2014.
Only 2% of studies found a positive and significant relationship with alcohol and tobacco expenditures (Source: The World Bank)
