Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T16:17:53.031Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evaluating the Impact of Brazil's Bolsa Família: Cash Transfer Programs in Comparative Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Fábio Veras Soares ,
Rafael Perez Ribas  and
Rafael Guerreiro Osório
Fábio Veras Soares
Affiliation:
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth; Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasilia, Brazil
Rafael Perez Ribas
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rafael Guerreiro Osório
Affiliation:
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, Brasilia, Brazil
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This note reviews the targeting performance of Bolsa Família and its impact on inequality, poverty, consumption, education, health care, and labor force participation. Bolsa Família has several design and implementation characteristics that distance it from a pure human-capital-based conditional cash transfer model. For that reason, we compare the impact of Bolsa Família to that of other conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America, such as in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Chile. We show that, as have other programs, Bolsa Família has helped reduce inequality and extreme poverty and has improved education outcomes, without having a negative impact on labor force participation. Where the program has failed to have its intended impact, in health and nutrition, supply-side constraints seem to be the principal problem.

Resumo

Resumo

Esta nota resume a performance do Programa Bolsa Família em termos de sua focalização e seu impacto sobre desigualdade, pobreza, consumo, educação, saúde e participação na força de trabalho. O desenho e a implementação do Bolsa Família apresenta características que o distanciam de um programa “puro”de transferência condicionada de renda baseado no capital humano. Por este motivo, nós comparamos o impacto do Bolsa Família com o de outros programas de transferências condicionadas da América Latina, como aqueles do México, Colômbia, Equador e Chile. Nós mostramos que assim como outros programas, o Bolsa Família ajudou a reduzir a desigualdade e a extrema pobreza e teve impactos positivos sobre indicadores educacionais, sem apresentar resultados negativos sobre a participação na força de trabalho. Nas áreas onde resultados positivos não foram encontrados como saúde e nutrição, restrições da oferta parecem ser o principal problema.

Type
Research Notes
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , 2010 , pp. 173 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Latin American Studies Association

References

Attanasio, O., Fitzsimons, Emla, and Gomez, Ana 2005 The Impact of a Conditional Cash Education Subsidy on School Enrollment in Colombia. London: Institute of Fiscal Studies.Google Scholar
Attanasio, O., Fitzsimons, Emla, Gomez, Ana, Lopez, Diana, Meghir, C., and Mesnard, Alice 2006 “Child Education and Work Choices in the Presence of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme in Rural Colombia” Working Paper W06/13, Institute of Fiscal Studies, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attanasio, O., Gómez, Luis Carlos, Heredia, Patricia, and Vera-Hernandez, Marcos 2005 The Short-Term Impact of a Conditional Cash Subsidy on Child Health and Nutrition in Colombia. Report Summary: Familias 03, Institute of Fiscal Studies, London.Google Scholar
Attanasio, O., and Mesnard, Alice 2006 “The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme on Consumption in Colombia.” Fiscal Studies 27 (4): 421–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Behrman, J., and Hoddinott, John 2005 “Programme Evaluation with Unobserved Heterogeneity and Selective Implementation: The Mexican PROGRESA Impact on Child Nutrition.” Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 67 (4): 547–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Behrman, J., Sengupta, P., and Todd, Petra 2000 “The Impact of PROGRESA on Achievement Test Scores in the First Year.” Final Report, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Behrman, J., Sengupta, P., and Todd, Petra 2005 “Progressing through PROGRESA: An Impact Assessment of a School Subsidy Experiment in Rural Mexico.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 54 (1): 237–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Britto, Tatiana 2008 “Brazil's Bolsa Familia: Understanding Its Origins and Challenges.” Poverty in Focus n.15. International Poverty Centre, Brasilia.Google Scholar
Coady, D., Grosh, Margareth, and Hoddinott, John 2004 Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries: Review of Lessons and Experience. Washington, D.C.: World Bank and International Food Policy Research InstituteCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diaz, J. J., and Handa, Sudhanshu 2005 “An Assessment of Propensity Score Matching as Nonexperimental Impact Estimator: Evidence from Mexico's PROGRESA Program.” Journal of Human Resources 41 (2): 319–345.Google Scholar
Edmonds, E. V., and Schady, Nobert 2008 “Poverty Alleviation and Child Labor.” Policy Research Working Paper 4702. World Bank, Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EDEPO, Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies 2004 Baseline Report on the Evaluation of Familias en Acción. London: Institute of Fiscal Studies.Google Scholar
Fiszbein, A., and Schady, Nobert 2009 “Conditional Cash Transfer: Reducing Present and Future Poverty.” Policy Research Report. World Bank, Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galasso, E. 2006 “‘With Their Effort and One Opportunity’: Alleviating Extreme Poverty in Chile.” Mimeo, Development Research Group, World Bank, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Gertler, Paul 2004 “Do Conditional Cash Transfers Improve Child Health? Evidence from PROGRESA's Control Randomized Experiment.” American Economic Review 94 (2): 336–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Handa, S., and Davis, Benjamin 2006 “The Experience of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America.” Development Policy Review 24 (5): 513–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Handa, S. and Maluccio, John 2008 “Matching the Gold Standard: Comparing Experimental and Non-Experimental Evaluation Techniques for a Geographically Targeted Program.” Middlebury College Economics Discussion Paper No. 08–13.Google Scholar
Hoddinot, J., Skoufias, E., and Washburn, R. 2000 “The Impact of PROGRESA on Consumption: A Final Report.” International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Lindert, Kathy, Linder, Anja, Hobbs, Jason, and la Brière, Bénédicte de 2007 “The Nuts and Bolts of Brazil's Bolsa Família Program: Implementing Conditional Cash Transfer in a Decentralized Context.” Social Protection Dicussion Paper. World Bank, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Martorell, R. 1999 “The Nature of Child Malnutrition and Its Long-Term Implications.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin 20:288–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Social Development 2007a “Primeiros resultados da análise de linha de base da pesquisa de impacto do programa Bolsa Familia.” Secretaria de Análise e Gestão da Informação, Brasília.Google Scholar
Ministry of Social Development 2007b “Sumário Executivo: Avaliação de Impacto do Programa Bolsa Familia.” Secretaria de Análise e Gestão da Informação, Brasília.Google Scholar
Morris, S., Olinto, Pedro, Flores, Rafael, Nilson, Eduardo A. F., and Figueiró, Ana C. 2004 “Conditional Cash Transfers Are Associated with a Small Reduction in the Weight Gain of Preschool Children in Northeast Brazil.” Journal of Nutrition 134:2336–2341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oliveira, A. M. H. Monica Andrade, Resende, Anne, Rodrigues, Clarissa, Rodrigues, Roberto, and Ribas, Rafael 2007 “The First Results of the Baseline Impact Evaluation of Bolsa Família.” In Evaluation of MDS' Programs and Policies-Results, edited by Vaitsman, J. and PaesSouza, R., 2:19–66. Brasília: SAGI/MDS.Google Scholar
Parker, S. W., Rubalcava, Luis, and Terurel, Graciela 2008 “Evaluating Conditional Schooling and Health Programs.” In Handbook of Development Economics, edited Schultz, T. and Strauss, John, 3963–4065. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Parker, S. W., and Skoufias, E. 2000 “The Impact of PROGRESA on Work, Leisure, and Time Allocation.” Final Report, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Paxson, C., and Schady, Nobert 2008 “Does Money Matter? The Effects of Cash Transfers on Child Health and Development in Rural Ecuador.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4226. World Bank. Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pianto, D., and Soares, Sergei 2003 “Use of Survey Design for the Evaluation of Social Programs: The PNAD and the Program for the Eradication of Child Labor in Brazil.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association in Puebla, Mexico, October.Google Scholar
Ravallion, Martin 2007 “How Relevant Is Targeting for the Success of an Antipoverty Program?” Policy Research Working Paper 4385. World Bank, Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, L. M. P., Paes-Sousa, Rômulo, Soares, Micheli, Henriuqe, Flávia, Pereira, Lucélia, Martins, Maísa, Alcântara, Luciene, Monteiro, Carlos, Conde, Wolney, and Konno, Cristina 2007 “Perfil nutricional de crianças menores de cinco anos do semi-árido brasileiro.” In Avaliação de políticas de programas do MDS—Resultados, edited by Vaitsman, J. and Paes-Souza, R., 1:347–382. Brasília: SAGI/MDS.Google Scholar
Schady, N. R., and Araujo, María Caridad 2008 “Cash Transfers, Conditions, and School Enrollment in Ecuador.” Economía 8 (2): 131–154.Google Scholar
Soares, F. V., and Britto, Tatiana 2007 “Confronting Capacity Constraints on Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America: The Cases of El Salvador and Paraguay.” Working Paper 44, International Poverty Centre, Brasília.Google Scholar
Soares, F. V., Soares, S. S., Sousa, M. M., and Osório, R. G. 2006 “Cash Transfer Programmes in Brazil: Impacts on Inequality and Poverty.” Working Paper 21, International Poverty Centre, Brasilia.Google Scholar
Soares, S. S., Osório, R. G., Soares, F. V., Sousa, M. M., and Zepeda, E. M. 2009 “Conditional Cash Transfers in Brazil, Chile and Mexico: Impacts upon Inequality.” Estudios Economicos, numero extraordinario: 207–224.Google Scholar
Soares, S. S., Ribas, R. P., and Soares, F. V. 2009 “Focalizacao e cobertura do Programa Bolsa Familia: Qual o significado dos 11 milhoes de Familias?” Texto para Discussao. Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicata, Brasília.Google Scholar
Zepeda, Eduardo 2006 “Background Research for ‘Do CCTs Reduce Poverty?‘” One Pager 21, Brasília: International Poverty Centre.Google Scholar