Nationwide 'poverty eradication programs' may improve cognitive abilities in adults.
Poverty is not just about having low income and being unable to buy necessary goods; it's also known to negatively impact
Does targeted poverty alleviation improve cognitive ability? Evidence from a quasi-experiment in China: Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13547860.2026.2659687
Adults lifted out of poverty by China's national program scored higher on cognitive tests afterward — and which kind of thinking improved dependent on where a person started
https://www.psypost.org/escaping-absolute-poverty-boosts-adult-cognitive-abilities/
Among economists, there is a growing view that poverty is not simply a matter of low income, but rather a situation in which a person's potential is 'deprived.' Based on this view, poverty hinders people from utilizing their inherent resources in productive activities. In fact, research has shown that chronic economic stress can strain attention and working memory, leading to a decline in cognitive function.
Therefore, research teams from Zhejiang University and the Central University of Finance and Economics in China turned their attention to ' Targeted Poverty Relief,' a program implemented in China, to examine whether social poverty policies can restore people's mental capacity. Targeted poverty relief is a nationwide initiative launched by the government in 2015, aiming to eradicate poverty among low-income households with a daily income of less than $1.10 (approximately 170 yen) by providing targeted loan, medical, and employment support.
The research team investigated not only whether poverty alleviation programs increased people's incomes, but also whether they improved the cognitive abilities of the adults involved. The study used data from the China Family Panel, which tracks the socioeconomic status of people across China, and analyzed adults from households below the poverty line or enrolled in poverty alleviation programs as of 2014. This data allowed the researchers to control for a wide range of factors, including age, marital status, household size, and regional economic development.
Cognitive abilities were measured using the results of standardized tests conducted between 2010 and 2018. These tests investigated two types of intelligence: ' crystallized intelligence ,' which is based on accumulated knowledge and experience, and ' fluid intelligence ,' which is the ability to solve new problems and identify patterns independently of past learning. Crystallized intelligence was measured using word recognition and mathematical calculation tasks, while fluid intelligence was measured using memory tests and number sequence reasoning.
The research team compared test results before and after the poverty alleviation program for adults who participated in it and those who did not. They found that adults who benefited from the program showed significant improvements in both crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. Specifically, they reported an average score increase of 5 points in crystallized intelligence and an average score increase of 0.5 points in fluid intelligence.
The improvement in cognitive abilities was most pronounced in western China, where poverty has historically been severe and resources have been intensively invested in poverty alleviation programs. It was also observed that the increase in crystallized intelligence was greater among the elderly and those with lower levels of education, suggesting that improvements in living conditions due to poverty alleviation measures allowed them to regain basic knowledge and skills that they were unable to acquire earlier in life.
On the other hand, those with higher levels of education showed significant improvements in fluid intelligence through poverty alleviation programs. These individuals may have already possessed the fundamental learning skills necessary to translate greater economic stability into advanced problem-solving and abstract reasoning abilities.
Furthermore, women who participated in the poverty alleviation program showed a much greater improvement in crystallized intelligence than men. The research team speculates that this is because, under traditional family norms, women bear a greater burden of housework and caregiving, and the poverty alleviation program significantly reduced this burden for women compared to men, resulting in improved knowledge-based cognitive function.
Furthermore, a comparison between employed and unemployed individuals revealed that unemployed individuals showed slightly greater improvement in cognitive abilities. This is thought to be because unemployed individuals living in poverty faced significant health and economic barriers, and therefore benefited more from the program.
The research team has identified three possible pathways by which poverty alleviation programs improved cognitive scores. The first relates to health status: the programs improved both self-reported physical and mental health, and these improvements correlated with improvements in cognitive scores. This is thought to be because the reduction in the burden and anxiety associated with illness increased the energy available for information processing.
The second finding concerned changes in spending. Households participating in poverty alleviation programs spent more money on education and skills training, which was associated with improved cognitive scores. It appears that poverty alleviation programs helped people engage in more learning activities by reducing the direct costs of education and increasing the rewards for skills training.
The third point concerns improved employment rates. Participation in poverty alleviation programs gave more adults the opportunity to work in workplaces that require daily problem-solving, time management, and social interaction. It is believed that being in such work environments may have led to improved cognitive scores.
This study suggests that large-scale, nationwide poverty alleviation programs improved cognitive abilities, but because the programs were comprehensive, encompassing areas such as healthcare, education, and employment, it is unclear which specific areas had the strongest impact.
Psychology-focused media outlet PsyPost stated, 'Future research will need to follow participants for longer periods to determine whether these improvements in cognitive abilities are sustainable throughout life and help prevent future financial difficulties.'
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