scholarly journals From Fome Zero to Bolsa Família: Social Policies and Poverty Alleviation under Lula

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTHONY HALL
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Bolsa Familia

Under the administrations of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002) and especially President Lula (2003–), conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes have become adopted as mainstream social policy in Brazil. This follows a marked trend since the 1990s in Latin America towards the setting up of targeted safety nets to alleviate poverty. Lula consolidated and expanded CCTs, firstly under Fome Zero and later Bolsa Família, now the largest such scheme in the world. Its four sub-programmes (educational stipends to boost school attendance, maternal nutrition, food supplements and a domestic gas subsidy) benefit some 30 million of Brazil's poorest people, with a target of 44 million by 2006. Since 2003, spending on Bolsa Família has risen significantly to consume over one-third of the social assistance budget for the poorest sectors and it remained a flagship policy in the run-up to the presidential elections of October 2006. Although coverage of Bolsa Família is impressive, however, systematic evaluation of its social and economic impacts is still lacking. Evidence from other CCT programmes in Latin America suggests that positive results may be achieved in terms of meeting some immediate needs of the poor. However, there have been many implementation problems. These include poor beneficiary targeting, lack of inter-ministerial coordination, inadequate monitoring, clientelism, weak accountability and alleged political bias. Given the heightened profile of cash transfers in Brazil's social policy agenda, key questions need to be asked. These concern, firstly, the extent to which Bolsa Família does indeed contribute to poverty alleviation; and secondly, whether it creates greater dependence of the poor on government hand-outs and political patronage at the expense of long-term social investment for development.

scholarly journals Transferências de Renda Condicionada na América Latina e Bolsa Família no Brasil: uma discussão sobre desenvolvimentos da política social

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Carolina Alves Vestena
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
America Latina ◽  
Political Spectrum

ResumoNos últimos, transformações têm sido observadas no espectro político latino-americano, o que se reflete também na condução das políticas sociais na região. Exemplo disso, no caso brasileiro, são as recentes mudanças no programa Bolsa Família, uma das políticas mais reconhecidas internacionalmente neste âmbito. Nesse sentido, o presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar uma análise do perfil do programa em sua elaboração e no interior do contexto latino-americano das políticas de transferência de renda. Assim, permite refletir sobre o paradigma de política social presente no continente e suas influências no modelo brasileiro. A partir de levantamento teórico sobre as políticas sociais na região e de dados empíricos sobre seus impactos, são destacadas as tendências de desenvolvimento observadas e discute-se o papel desempenhado pela política social hegemônica nos últimos anos no Brasil.Palavras-chaves: Bolsa Família, transferência de renda condicionada, América Latina, política social.***Las Transferencias de Renta Condicionadas en América Latina y Bolsa Familia en Brasil: una discusión sobre los desarrollos de la política socialResumenEn los últimos, se han observado cambios en el espectro político de América Latina, lo que se refleja también en la gestión de las políticas sociales en la región. Ejemplo, en Brasil, son los recientes cambios en el programa Bolsa Familia, una de las políticas más reconocidas internacionalmente en este ámbito. En este sentido, este artículo tiene por objetivo presentar un análisis del perfil del programa en su preparación y en el contexto latinoamericano de las políticas de transferencia de renta. Así, que permite reflexionar sobre el paradigma de la política social en el continente y sus influencias en el modelo brasileño. De la investigación teórica sobre las políticas sociales de la región y los datos empíricos sobre su impacto se ponen de relieve las tendencias de desarrollo observadas y se discute el papel de la política social hegemónica en los últimos años en Brasil.Palabras claves: Bolsa Familia, transferencia de renta condicionada, América Latina, política social.***Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America and Bolsa Família Program in Brazil: a discussion on development of social policiesAbstractIn the last years, changes have been observed in the Latin American political spectrum, which also has reflects on the social policies in the region. The recent changes in the Bolsa Família program in Brazil, one of the most internationally recognized policies in this area, exemplify these transformations. Hereof this article aims to present an analysis of the Bolsa Família profile in its implementation and within the Latin American context of cash transfer policies. From this perspective it is possible to analyze the paradigm of social policy on the continent and its influences on the Brazilian model. From theoretical research on social policies in the region and empirical data on their impact, the development trends and the role of the hegemonic social policy in recent years in Brazil will be highlighted and discussed.Keywords: Bolsa Família, conditional cash transfer, Latin America, social policy. 

Adoption and Evolution of Cash Transfer Programs in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabián A. Borges
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Robust Evidence

The last two decades witnessed an unprecedented decline in poverty across the developing world, a decline partly explained by the adoption of social cash transfer programs. Ironically, Latin America, traditionally the world’s most unequal region, has been a global trendsetter in this regard. Beginning in the late 1990s, governments across the region and across the ideological spectrum began adopting conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs, which award poor families regular stipends conditional on their children attending school and/or getting regular medical check-ups, and non-contributory pension (NCP) schemes for low-income and/or uncovered seniors. There is robust evidence that CCT programs achieve their short-term goals of reducing poverty while increasing school attendance and usage of health services. However, they do not improve learning and appear to be failing at their long-term goal of breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Likely as a result of low-quality education, long-term CCT beneficiaries do not have significantly better economic prospects than comparable non-beneficiaries. CCTs also have electoral effects—there is robust evidence from across the region that they increase support for incumbent presidential candidates. CCTs were a response to the two big transformations the region underwent during the 1980s: the debt crisis and subsequent lost decade and the transition of most countries to democracy. Increased economic insecurity following the crisis and subsequent neoliberal reforms represented both a threat to the survival of newly elected governments and an opportunity for politicians to win over voters through increased social assistance. Pioneered by Mexico and Brazil in the mid-1990s, CCTs were by far the most effective policies to emerge from that context. They quickly diffused across the region, often with support from international financial institutions. Counterintuitively, adoption appears to be unrelated to the ascendance of left-wing governments in the region during the 2000s. The politics of CCT design are less understood. The myriad ways in which design can be conceptualized and measured, combined with the relative newness of this literature, have limited the accumulation of knowledge. It does appear that left-wing governments adopt more expansive CCTs and de-emphasize conditionality enforcement. Whereas their initial adoption and expansion, which coincided with the 2000s economic boom, proved politically easy, further reductions in poverty will require politically difficult choices, namely, raising taxes and/or redirecting funds away from programs benefiting the better-off. Improving the long-term effectiveness of CCTs will require improving education quality, which in turn will require challenging the region’s powerful teachers’ unions.

scholarly journals Welfare Stereotypes and Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes: Evidence from Brazil’s Bolsa Família

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-76
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Layton
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Innovative Design ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Bolsa Familia

Some observers claim that conditional cash transfer programmes limit the stigma of taking welfare and thereby promote social inclusion for beneficiaries. This article uses data from the 2014 AmericasBarometer to test these claims in relation to Brazil’s Bolsa Família programme (BFP). The results show that, despite the programme’s innovative design, beneficiaries encounter the stigmatisation and negative self-stereotypes that characterise more traditional anti-poverty programmes. Many Brazilians, recipient and non-recipient alike, endorse explicitly negative stereotypes of Bolsa Família assistance recipients. Moreover, the level to which respondents endorse these stereotypes strongly predicts their level of support for the BFP. These results highlight the pervasive nature of negative stereotypes towards the poor, even in the context of the developing world, and are consistent with the predictions of social psychological theories of system justification.

The influence of Bolsa Familia conditional cash transfer program on child labor in Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Santana Moreira Pais ◽  
Felipe de Figueiredo Silva ◽  
Evandro Camargos Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Child Labor ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Transfer Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brazilian Government ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The Brazilian Government created the Bolsa Familia program to combat poverty and the insertion of so many children into the labor market. This program is an income transfer program subject to certain conditions such as a minimum school attendance for children under 17 years of age. In 2006, almost half of the people with an income per capita of R$300.00 (US$139.53) per month declared that they received this benefit. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of Bolsa Familia on child labor in Brazil in 2006. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a propensity score matching model with data from the National Household Sample Survey PESQUISA NACIONAL POR AMOSTRA DE DOMICÍLIOS (PNAD), for 2006. Findings Results indicate that the program increased the number of hours of child labor in Brazil. However, this outcome might be explained by the fact that those families who received Bolsa Familia were also those with higher socioeconomic vulnerability. Thus, they need to guarantee their survival with the income generated via child labor. Social implications The Brazilian Government needs to invest not only in monetary transfer policies but also in the improvement of the job market to create opportunities for the social development of children. Originality/value The contribution of the paper is the investigation into the effect of the Bolsa Familia program on the average time allocated to child labor; the authors find that this time allocation could be reduced by requiring a compulsory school attendance.

scholarly journals Do conditional cash transfers increase schooling among adolescents?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Draeger
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Intent To Treat

AbstractIn several Latin American countries, conditional cash transfer programmes are a proven means of alleviating poverty in the short term and promoting education of children from disadvantaged families in the longer run. While the effectiveness of the Brazilian Bolsa Família for children’s education outcomes up to 15 years of age has been widely documented, its contribution to the promotion of students of secondary school age has not been fully explored in light of the programme’s expansion to 16-17 years olds in 2008. In this paper, I draw on Brazilian National Household Sample Survey data and use a difference-in-differences approach already applied in research in the context of Bolsa Família extension. Whereas these data were previously examined to detect intent-to-treat (ITT) effects due to insufficient information on treatment status, in this study I rely on a classifier method to additionally estimate average treatment effects on the treated who belong to families supposedly receiving Bolsa Família cash transfers. The results suggest that school attendance rates for 16-year-olds are particularly increased in the Brazilian Northeast, although the estimates are not significant when further time periods are taken into account. As comparably poor but non-recipient households have larger and consistently significant gains of school attendance, the effect on adolescent’s education directly caused by the expansion of Bolsa Família remains ambiguous and thus cast doubt on the specific parallel trend assumption. In addition, no long-run ITT effects of the programme’s expansion on school participation among 16 year old teenagers are found.

The Social Investment Perspective, Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes and the Welfare Mix: Peru and Bolivia

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Nagels
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Feminist Perspective ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
State Orientation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Welfare Mix

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes have spread across Latin America since the late 1990s. They constitute one of the major changes in social policy in Latin America in the last twenty years (Barrientos, 2009). This innovation has significantly influenced the welfare mix (Esping-Andersen, 1990). Those who examine the welfare mix from a feminist perspective (Orloff, 1996; Martínez, 2008) insist that it is necessary to take into account the gender consequences of changing this mix. Based on a qualitative analysis of CCT programmes in Peru and Bolivia, this article makes two arguments. First, CCT programmes demonstrate that instead of being purely liberal or even neoliberal, the actions of the state in the production of welfare are now grounded from the perspective of social investment. Second, in Peru and Bolivia, the gendered impacts of this new state orientation nonetheless reinforce maternalistic and coercive practices.

scholarly journals BOLSA FAMILIA: PROGRAM TRANSFER TUNAI BERSYARAT UNTUK PENGURANGAN KEMISKINAN DI BRAZIL

Sosio Informa ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mu’man Nuryana
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
Program Transfer

It has been ten years Bolsa Familiais the key that helped Brazil to cut absolute poverty by half from 9,7% to 4,3% of the population. And even more impressive and different from other countries, income inequality decreased significantly where the Gini coefficient becomes 0 527, a 15% decrease. BF now reaching 14 million households or 50 million people, or about one-quarter of the population of Brazil, and is widely seen as a global success story, a point of reference for social policy across the globe.Hovever, building a progressive social policies that can lift the roots of poverty and promoting the distribution of welfare remains a challenge for policy-makers. The New Model of Social Policy in Brazil, which relied on 'targeting and social safety net', needs to be seen as a vehicle for the reconciliation of growth with equity, offering an alternative to a more progressive, traditional, institutionalised welfare service delivery mechanisms. Despite some promising initial evidence of conditional cash transfer schemes in Brazil, however, it remains to be seen how well the construction this safety net such as BF can continue to support the ambitious expectations in the case of Brazil. The important of successful BF concept is laid on how it can be applied to provide underprivileged sectors in the society with continuous access to basic social services and employment opportunities that may increase the chance of a better life for them. Keywords:programe, poverty. Telah sepuluh tahun Bolsa Familia (BF) menjadi kunci yang menolong Brazil memangkas angka kemiskinan absolut menjadi setengahnya, dari 9,7% menjadi 4,3% dari populasi, yang lebih mengesankan lagi dan berbeda dengan negara-negara lain, ketimpangan pendapatan menurun signifikan di mana koefisien Gini menjadi 0,527 suatu penurunan 15%. BF sekarang menjangkau hampir 14 juta rumah tangga atau 50 juta orang atau sekitar ¼ dari populasi Brazil, dan secara luas dilihat sebagai sebuah cerita sukses global, sebuah titik referensi bagi kebijakan sosial di seluruh dunia. Membangun kebijakan sosial progresif yang dapat mengangkat akar kemiskinan dan mempromosikan distribusi kesejahteraan masih menjadi tantangan bagi para pembuat kebijakan. Model baru Kebijakan Sosial di Brazil, yang mengandalkan ‘targeting and social safety net’, perlu dilihat sebagai wahana rekonsiliasi bagi growth with equity, menawarkan alternatif yang lebih progresif, tradisional, mekanisme yang terlembagakan yang menyediakan pelayanan kesejahteraan. Meskipun beberapa bukti awal telah cukup menjanjikan dari skema bantuan tunai bersyarat di Brasil, bagaimanapun, masih harus dilihat seberapa baik konstruksi jaring pengaman konstruksi seperti BF itu dapat terus mendukung harapan ambisius dalam kasus Brasil. Sangat penting bahwa keberhasilan konsep BF dapat diterapkan bagi sektor yang kurang beruntung dalam masyarakat dengan akses berkelanjutan terhadap pelayanan sosial dasar dan kesempatan kerja yang dapat meningkatkan kesempatan hidup yang lebih baik bagi mereka.Kata kunci: program, kemiskinan.

scholarly journals Encouraging Savings Behavior through Conditional Cash Transfers: Lessons from Latin America

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Gillian M. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Savings Behavior ◽  
The Poor

Savings, in the form of financial capital held in formal bank accounts, are an important factor in reducing poverty. They can stimulate financial inclusion of the poor, protect against unforeseen shocks, and fund long-term investments in human and economic development. However, the poor have limited options for formal savings. In recent years, governments around the world have begun to incorporate savings into their conditional cash transfer interventions. This paper focuses on such interventions by national and municipal governments in Latin America. While the evidence base is still too small to draw any firm conclusions about short-term benefits or long-term effectiveness, there have been positive outcomes from pilot projects and adapted savings-linked conditional cash transfer programs in some countries. To ensure successful program design and implementation, governments interested in savings-linked conditional cash transfers should make sure to fully assess the political, economic, regulatory, and infrastructural conditions present in their communities.

scholarly journals Familialist poverty regulation : the case of the ‘Bolsa Família’ Programme in the Northeast region of Brazil

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio Eiró
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Northeast Region ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Political Machine ◽  
Bolsa Familia

This thesis’ object is the poverty regulation in Brazil within the framework of the ‘Bolsa Família’ Programme, a conditional cash transfer social policy assembling several elements of the debate and the experience of poverty in Brazil. This work explains how the mechanisms of poverty regulation interact with local citizenship practices. In effect, the access of the poor to social rights and the exercise of their political rights are both object of a process of regulation by family values in a context of strong social inequalities. Beyond the fact that social assistance depends on family organisation, the implementation of the ‘Bolsa Família’ Programme is based on informal rules, reflecting the dominant social representations of poverty in Brazil. In addition, the allocation of social benefits depends in part on personalised rapports between the programme’s beneficiaries and political candidates and elected representatives. This work is based on a case study in the Northeast region of Brazil—in a middle-sized municipality of the Ceará state. An ethnographic approach allowed the identification of the logic of operation of a political machine involving social assistance, elected officials, social workers and beneficiaries. More generally, this thesis examines the interactions between the poor and the society as a whole, from a local perspective of contemporary issues of poverty regulation and contributes to the study of the political and electoral use of social assistance.

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