Conditional cash transfers in Brazil

A large recent literature in development economics has pointed to the success of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs in increasing enrolment rates among children from poor families and contributing to poverty reduction. Despite being possibly the largest in terms of budget and population covered, the Brazilian program “Bolsa Familia” has received relatively less attention in the evaluation literature compared to CCTs in Mexico, Colombia and other countries. The goal of this project is to fill this gap by analyzing some unique features of the design of Bolsa Familia and of its implementation. Specific features include the specification of increasing levels of punishments for noncompliance with the conditions of the program, and joint responsibility in compliance of all children within the household. Adequate theoretical models and estimation strategies to analyze household choices in this framework need to be developed. The role of teachers and school personnel in reporting attendance and contributing to implementation also needs to be better understood.