scholarly journals Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes: The Recent Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Cecchini ◽  
Aldo Madariaga
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
The Caribbean

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.

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 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. 

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