Economic empowerment through welfare? MAPPING the employment impacts of conditional cash transfer programs

This study systematically maps and reviews emerging evidence on employment-related conditionalities in CCT programs, using a Systematic Mapping Review (SMR) approach guided by the PRISMA protocol. Twenty-five empirical studies from Scopus, Web of Science, SAGE, and ScienceDirect were analysed through the Antecedents–Decisions–Outcomes (ADO) framework. Findings show that CCTs integrate behavioural employment incentives that support poverty alleviation, financial literacy, women’s empowerment, child labour reduction, and income generation. For instance, in Indonesia, programs shifted poor agricultural households toward nonfarm wage work (+1.54 percentage points) and microenterprises (+1.51), while in Honduras, CCT programs improved rural women’s earnings (+USD 163.9) and reduced child labour wages (−USD 26). However, broader employment effects were mixed, underscoring the need for stronger program designs to achieve sustained labour market outcomes. While CCTs contribute to income diversification and female labour force participation, their effects on long-term financial independence and the ultra-poor remain uneven. This study identifies religiosity, and entrepreneurship as underexplored but potentially transformative conditionalities. Findings urge policymakers to shift CCT goals toward context-specific employability and dignity through sustainable work, while researchers should examine under-studied regions with mixed methods, as the ADO model reveals vital links between labour supply and social support.