Table 1.

Synthesis of included studies

Author	Region	Program details	Evaluation details	Findings	Risk of bias
Child outcomes
Brownell et al. (2018)	Manitoba	Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit Outcome: Perinatal and prenatal outcome	Study design: Retrospective cohort study of propensity-score matched clinical intervention providing prenatal cash benefit. 10,031 mother-newborn pairs in each of the exposed and unexposed groups who were low income; 55,987 pairs who were not low income were also included to determine the effect of intervention on inequity Data sources: Health and social administrative data from Manitoba (PATHS), 2003–2010	Positive Receipt of benefit narrowed the gap between mothers who had low income and those who did not. Receipt of benefit was associated with narrowed gap in longer duration of breastfeeding, lower odds of preterm birth, lower odds of low birthweight	5
Brownell et al. (2016)	Manitoba	Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit Outcome: Perinatal and prenatal outcomes	Study design: Cross-sectional study using propensity matching Data sources: Health and social administrative data 2003–2010	Positive Positive impact on all outcomes including low birth weight, preterm births, Apgar score, breastfeeding initiation, neonatal readmission, and newborn hospital length of stay	6
Enns et al. (2021)	Manitoba	Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit Outcome: Perinatal and prenatal outcomes; childhood vaccination rate; developmental vulnerability in kindergarten	Study design: Cohort study using propensity matching restricted to First Nations women and children with low income, comparing mother-infant pairs who received a prenatal cash benefit (n=6103) to those who did not (n=2106) Data sources: Health and social administrative data 2003–2011	Positive Receipt of the benefit was associated with lower risk of low birthweight and prematurity, higher breastfeeding initiation, higher rates of childhood vaccination, and lower risk of developmental vulnerability	5
Lebihan and Mao Takongmo (2018)	10 provinces	Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) Outcome: Child health and development	Study design: Difference-in-differences study where the treatment group consists of children aged 5 or less and their parents and the control group children aged 6 or more (with no younger siblings) and their parents Data sources: NLSCY 1994–1995 (Cycle 1) through 2008–2009 (Cycle 8); and Survey of Young Children (SYC) SYC 2010–2011	Null – positive UCCB had no significant impact on children’s general health, with the exception of lower aggression scores, which were found after reform	6
Milligan and Stabile (2009)	Manitoba	Canadian Child Benefit expansions and benefit expansions in Manitoba including allowing families to keep full social assistance income Outcome: Child behaviour	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing Manitoba to the rest of Canada. 19,590 Canadian families with children 0–5 years Data sources: Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), 1999–2005; National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), 1998–1999 to 2004–2005;post-period2002–2003 and 2004–2005	Null to positive No difference found overall Among families with low education, exposed group showed higher motor and social development scores, lower aggression scores, better overall health for girls only	5
Struck et al. (2021)	Manitoba	Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit Outcome: Perinatal and prenatal outcomes; childhood vaccination rate	Study design: Cohort study using propensity matching restricted to Métis women with low income, comparing mother-infant pairs who received a prenatal cash benefit (n=3702) to those who did not (n=1189) Data sources: Health and social administrative data 2003–2011	Mixed Positive: Receipt of the benefit was associated with lower risk of low birthweight and prematurity, increased childhood vaccination Negative: Receipt of the benefit was associated with higher risk of large-for-gestational age and neonatal readmission	5
Parental health only
Daley (2017)	All provinces	Universal Child Care Benefit Outcome: Parental health	Study design: Repeated cross-sectionaldifference-in-differences study comparing mothers with children <6 years (eligible for UCCB) to mothers with children 6–12 years (ineligible). 26,886 mothers, 6273 of whom were lone parents Data sources: Microdata from the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003 to 2008	Positive Better mental health and lower stress scores for eligible mothers compared to ineligible mothers	6
Kim (2014)	Quebec (compared with rest of Canada)	Allowance for Newborn Children (ANC) Outcome: Fertility	Study design: Empirical analysis using quasi-experimentaldifference-in-differences design. The 1991 and 1996 census files reported 345,351 families and 342,231 families, respectively Data sources: Census Public Use Microdata Files from 1991 and 1996	Null Age-adjusted exposure to the ANC policy was not associated with significantly higher completed fertility among women in Quebec compared with women in the rest of Canada. ANC was associated with higher fertility rate in younger age groups	4
Lebihan and Mao Takongmo (2019)	Canadian provinces	Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) Outcome: Parental Obesity	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing mothers and fathers with children <6 years (eligible for UCCB) to mothers with children 6–12 years (ineligible) Data sources: Confidential micro-data files from the CCHS 2001–2014	Positive UCCB associated with decreases in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in mothers with young children. No impact on fathers	5-6
Milligan (2005)	Quebec (compared with rest of Canada)	The Allowance for Newborn Children (ANC) Outcome: Fertility	Study design: Quasi-experimentaldifference-in-differences study. The difference in the fertility of women in Quebec before and after the introduction of the ANC compared with the difference in fertility of women outside Quebec during the same period Data sources: Canadian 1991 and 1996 Census Public Use Microdata Files on Families	Positive The responsiveness of fertility to a birth subsidy is estimated to be large—up to a 25% increase in fertility for families eligible for the full amount. A $1000 increase in first-year benefits is estimated to increase the probability of having a child by 16.9%	5-6
Parent and Wang (2007)	Quebec, Ontario, compared with rest of Canada	Family Allowance Program Outcome: Fertility	Study design: Difference-in-differences study Data sources: Canadian Census. The main datasets used come from the 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991 Public Use Microdata Files on Families and the 1971, 1981, and 1991 Census Public Use Microdata Files on Individuals	Overall null Short-term increase in fertility following introduction of program, ultimately offset by reduced fertility later in life	5-6
Redelmeier et al. (2012)	Ontario	Ontario Child Benefit Outcome: Parental injury	Study design: Repeated cross-sectional study, including total of 153,377 emergency department visits. Used universal health care databases to evaluate emergency department visits during specific days on which social benefit payments were made (child benefit distribution) relative to visits on control days over a 7-year interval (1 April 2003 to 31 March 2010 Data sources: Ontario health administrative data	Positive Fewer emergency department visits per day on child benefit payment days than on control days. No significant differences were observed for the 7 days immediately before or the 7 days immediately after the child benefit payment	5
Economic outcomes only
Baker et al. (2021)	Canada	Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and Canada Child Benefit (CCB) Outcome: Household poverty, maternal labour force participation	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing single mothers (exposed) to single women without children (unexposed) Data sources: Canadian Income Survey (2012–2017); Longitudinal Administrative Databank (2007–2018); Labour Force Survey (2012–2019)	Positive to null After introduction of child benefit programs (UCCB and CCB), poverty decreased and after-tax income increased for the exposed group compared to unexposed group. However, no association between receipt of child benefits and labour force participation	5-6
Brown and Tarasuk (2019)	Canada	Canada Child Benefit (CCB) Outcome: Food insecurity	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing families with children (exposed) and families without children (unexposed); associations between receipt of CCB and food insecurity measured for three groups: any income (n=41,455), income less than median (n=18,191), and income less than low-income measure (n=7579) Data sources: 2015–2018 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey	Positive Receipt of CCB was associated with lower food insecurity, with the largest decrease among the group with low income	5
Hanratty and Trzcinski (2009)	Canada	Extension of Canadian paid Family leave Outcome: Labour force participation	Study design: Difference-in-differences study examining before and after implementation of extension Data sources: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth from 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and 2002 to 2003	Generally positive Extension was associated with a notable increase in the proportion of mothers returning to work within 1 year after birth. Returns to work reverted to earlier levels once paid leave eligibility expired. Women with children of the age of 1 did not demonstrate a decrease in relative employment rates compared to those with children ages 3 to 4	5-6
Ionescu-Ittu et al. (2015)	Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut	Universal child care benefit (UCCB) Outcome: Food insecurity	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing families with children <6 years (eligible for UCCB) to families with children > 6 years Data sources: Canadian Community Health Survey 2001–2009	Positive Families receiving UCCB were less likely to report food insecurity	5-6
Milligan and Stabile (2007)	Canadian provinces	National Child Benefit (NCB) (including integration of child benefits with social assistance payments) Outcome: Labour force participation	Study design: Difference-in-differences study comparing receipt and non-receipt of benefits. Using administrative data, the authors calculated the federal and provincial benefits available to each family in the data using a detailed tax and benefit simulator for the Canadian tax system Data sources: The Census Family and the Person files of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) for the years 1996–2000	Positive Integration of benefits led to higher labour force participation among exposed participants	5-6
Tarasuk et al. (2019)	Ontario	Eligibility for Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) based on calculated after-tax income Outcome: Food insecurity	Study design: Repeated cross-sectional study to measure changes in household food insecurity in Ontario after the introduction of the 2007 Ontario Child Benefit and the 2008 implementation of the province’s poverty reduction strategy Data sources: Five cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey 2005 to 2014; Master files of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)	Positive Prevalence of household food insecurity declined among families eligible for the OCB following its introduction	4
Woolley (1996)	Canada	1993 child tax benefit reforms, including earned income supplement Outcome: Labour force participation	Study design: Microsimulation analysis Data sources: Social Policy Simulation Database/Model (SPSD/M) developed by Statistics Canada 1992–1993; 10 qualitative interviews	Positive but small Tax reforms led to minimal effects on labour force participation of families (mostly among lower-middle income families)	3-4
Multiple outcome categories
Ang (2015)	Quebec (compared with rest of Canada)	Quebec Parental Insurance Program (parental leave benefits, and a series of cash-transfer fertility incentives) Outcomes: Fertility, labour force participation	Study design: Difference-in-differences study Data sources: Confidential versions of the Canadian Census and the Labour Force Surveys on-site at Statistics Canada, census data 1986–2011	Generally positive Higher parental leave benefits increased the birth rate and labour supply among women of childbearing age; cash transfer fertility incentives only slightly increased birth rates and decreased female labour supply	5-6
McNown and Ridao-Cano (2004)	Canada	Child benefits Outcomes: Fertility, female labour force participation	Study design: Economic empirical time-series analysis Data sources: Historical Statistics of Canada (Statistics Canada) for the period 1947–1963, OECD Labor Force Statistics for the period 1964–1999. Social Security Statistics (Human Resources Development Canada). Social Security Statistics (Human Resources Development Canada)	Overall, null to positive but small relative effect sizes Child benefit policies led to small changes in fertility and female labour force participation	3
Milligan and Stabile (2011)	All Canadian provinces	Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)—unconditional transfer National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) Outcomes: Child health, maternal mental health	Design: Policy evaluation study. Benefits first simulated using Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, then simulated benefits evaluated using National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Comprises approximately 108,000 observations over survey cycles Data sources: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), 1994–1995 to 2004–2005. Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics for simulation	Positive Child benefit programs had positive effects on child test scores, maternal physical health, and maternal mental health (depression) Stronger effects on educational outcomes, and on physical health for boys and mental health outcomes for girls	6
Morris and Michalopoulos (2003)	British Columbia and New Brunswick	Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP)— earnings supplement for parents who went off social assistance for full-time employment Outcomes: Parental employment, child health	Study design: Randomized control trial; 1654 families and 2582 children in the program group and 1605 families and 2496 children in the control group Data sources: Participant surveys collected in November 1992 and March 1995.	Positive Economic: SSP was found to increase employment and income for parents of children in every age group Child health at 36 months of follow-up: for children 5 years and under, the SSP had no effect; for children in the ages 6–11, the SSP was associated with better children’s cognitive functioning and overall parent-reported health. For adolescents, the SSP increased minor delinquency and substance use	6