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For decades, economists assumed that giving cash directly to people in poverty would be wasted on temptations like alcohol. A series of large field studies has overturned that belief. When low-income households received regular, no-strings payments, most spent the money on food, school fees, tools, and small businesses, and reported lower stress. Spending on alcohol and tobacco did not rise. The findings have encouraged some governments to test direct cash transfers instead of distributing specific goods, on the reasoning that recipients usually understand their own needs better than distant officials do.