Bolsa Famlia

1
Bolsa Famlia
Minister of Social Development and Hunger
Alleviation Patrus Ananias discussing the
program
President Lula giving a speech to recipients of
Bolsa Famlia and other federal assistance
programs in Diadema
The family of Selma Ferreira was the first
recipient of Bolsa Escola, a precursor to Bolsa
Famlia enacted by governor Cristovam Buarque
of the Federal District in 1995.
Bolsa Famlia (Portuguese pronunciation:[bows famili], Family
Allowance) is a social welfare program of the Brazilian government,
part of the Fome Zero network of federal assistance programs. Bolsa
Famlia provides financial aid to poor Brazilian families; if they have
children, families must ensure that the children attend school and are
vaccinated. The program attempts to both reduce short-term poverty by
direct cash transfers and fight long-term poverty by increasing human
capital among the poor through conditional cash transfers. It also
works to give free education to children who cannot afford to go to
school to show the importance of education.
[1]
The Economist described Bolsa Famlia as an "anti-poverty scheme
invented in Latin America" (which) "is winning converts
worldwide."
[2]
The program was a centerpiece of President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva's
social policy, and is reputed to have played a role in his victory in the
Brazilian presidential election, 2006. Bolsa Familia is currently the
largest conditional cash transfer program in the world, though the
Mexican program Oportunidades was the first nation-wide program of
this kind.
[3]
The Bolsa Familia program has been mentioned as one factor
contributing to the reduction of poverty in Brazil, which fell 27.7%
during the first term in the Lula administration.
[4]
Recently the Center
of Political Studies of the Getulio Vargas Foundation has published a
study showing that there was a sharp reduction in the number of people
in poverty in Brazil between 2003 and 2005.
[5]
Other factors include an
improvement in the job market and real gains on the minimum wage.
About 12 million Brazilian families receive funds from Bolsa Famlia,
which has been described as "the largest programme of its kind in the
world."
By February 2011, 26% of the Brazilian population were covered by
the program.
History
Bolsa Escola, a predecessor which was conditional only on school
attendance, was pioneered in Brasilia by then-governor Cristovam Buarque. Not long after, other municipalities and
states adopted similar programs. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso later federalized the program. In 2003, Lula
formed Bolsa Famlia by combining Bolsa Escola with Bolsa Alimentao and Carto Alimentao (all part of Lula's
Fome Zero anti-hunger program) and Auxlio Gas (a transfer to compensate for the end of federal gas subsidies).
This also meant the creation of a new Ministry the Ministrio do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate Fome
(Ministry for Social Development and War Against Hunger). This merger reduced administrative costs and also
eased bureaucratic complexity for both the families involved and the administration of the program.
Bolsa Famlia
2
Objectives
Programs employing various types of conditional cash transfer are social policies currently employed in many places
in the world to fight and reduce poverty. In the short term, the aim is to mitigate the problems resulting from poverty.
In the long term, the goal is to invest in human capital and interrupt the transgenerational cycle of poverty (i.e. from
one generation to another). Conditional cash transfer programs began to gain strength in 1997. At the time there were
only three countries in the world with this experience: Bangladesh, Mexico and Brazil.
Benefit
Bolsa Famlia currently gives families with per-capita monthly income below $140 BRL (poverty line, ~$56 USD) a
monthly stipend of $32 BRL (~$13 USD) per vaccinated child (< 16 years old) attending school (up to 5), and $38
BRL (~$15 USD) per youth (16 or 17 years old) attending school (up to 2). Furthermore, to families whose
per-capita monthly income below $70 BRL (extreme poverty line, ~$28 USD), the program gives the Basic Benefit
$70 BRL per month.
[1][6]
This money is given preferentially to a female head of household, through so-called Citizen Cards which are mailed
to the family. This card operates like a debit card and is issued by the Caixa Econmica Federal, a
government-owned savings bank (the second largest bank in the country). The money can be withdrawn in over
14,000 Caixa locations. This practice helps to reduce corruption,Wikipedia:Citation neededa long problem in Brazil,
and helps to dissociate the receipt of money from individual politicians or political parties. The names of every
person enlisted in the program and the amount given to them can be found online at the Portal da Transparncia, the
program's website.
Structure
Political structure
Brazil has a strong federal system defined as the resource base of states, the power of governors, the articulation of
subnational interests within the Brazilian National Congress, and the distribution of government across three levels
of government. Hence, state governors are able to constrain the central government. This is allowed because of a
weak, fragmented, institutionalized party system. Fragmentation makes it difficult for a non-consensual form to
reach the central level, creating a policy challenge for national leaders. Fragmentation also makes it difficult for
national leaders to reach a consensus when creating policies.
Cash transfer programs had previously existed in the Cardoso administration - Bolsa Escola, Bolsa Alimentao,
Auxlio Gs. Most of these early programs faced internal organization challenges. Bolsa Escola was superior to other
programs because it applied to all citizens and both supported and was associated with education.
During Lulas first administration, his goal was to create a social program to replace the three previously existing
programs of Cardosos government. He unified all prior programs to create one and provided a monetary amount per
month that would allow households to rise above the poverty line.
As a redistributive program, it depends on central-local collaboration. Municipal governments act as the main agents
of the federal government. Bolsa Famlia avoids negotiations between the executive and legislative branches. The
central governments ability to bypass twenty-seven powerful governors demonstrates that federalism in Brazil is a
three-level game. In addition, state brokers cannot claim credit because it cuts out the intermediaries. Bolsa Famlia
resolved intra-bureaucratic chaos by creating one program controlled by the national executive branch. It reduced
administrative costs and facilitated user access.
Aside from the ability to bypass state involvement, there are additional enabling factors such as the interaction of a
non-majoritarian system of government and fiscal incentives for central-local collaborations. Because of these
factors, Bolsa Famlia helped reduce hunger and poverty. The dynamic relationship between the federal center and
Bolsa Famlia
3
municipalities enabled a direct relationship between citizens and the government. The hardening budget constraints
put in place by Cardosos administration to stabilize macroeconomic performance gave municipalities an incentive to
collaborate with the central government. Their collaboration helps them meet their required percent that they are
legally required to spend on social assistance. Municipalities that adhere to the program sign a covenant with the
federal government, which guarantees the programs promotion and availability of public services.
The federal center and municipalities abilities to collaborate with each other have facilitated Brazils capability to
build an effective welfare policy for the poor. The existence of a power sharing logic in Brazil enabled a widespread
means tested social program that was able to achieve success nationwide.
Cost and coverage
In 2006, Bolsa Familia is estimated to cost about 0.5% of Brazilian GDP and about 2.5% of total government
expenditure. It will cover about 11.2 million families, or about 44 million Brazilians.
[7]
The Bolsa Famlia was criticized by political opponents of President Lula for allegedly using the revenues of the
CPMF tax (which was originally created under the pretext of financing the public health system during the Fernando
Henrique Cardoso administration, but never actually didWikipedia:Citation needed; the CPMF tax expired in
December 2007, and was not renewed) for political and electoral purposes,
[8]
to the detriment of the public health
system that currently faces enormous difficulties.
[9]
Perception
The reaction from multilateral institutions to Bolsa Famlia has generally been enthusiastic. During a trip to Brazil in
2005, the former president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz said, "Bolsa Familia has already become a highly
praised model of effective social policy. Countries around the world are drawing lessons from Brazils experience
and are trying to produce the same results for their own people."
[10]
Criticism
Certain sectors of the Brazilian society, both among the conservatives and the progressives, as well as the Catholic
Church, oppose the concept of money transfers to the poor:
"This concept has always been controversial in Brazil. In other countries it is not this way, but in Brazil
there has always been resistance. When I was in college they (the opponents to the concept of money
transfers) used to say: 'the first thing the poor will do with the money is to get themselves drunk'. Later
on, it was no longer getting drunk that people talked about; they would say the money transferred would
be used by the poor to buy a battery radio. They assumed that people with less education would not use
their money wisely."
[11]
Q. Does that resistance make sense? A: No. In the 1980s (So Paulo State) Governor Franco Montoro
had created a money transfer program to benefit families which were receiving their sons back home,
coming out of "FEBEM" (the Brazilian punitive institution for minors). As it was very, very little
money, families would get together to do house-raising, each month on somebody's house. Or families
would save for months, to be able to buy a popcorn wagon for a youth who now had to start working. At
the same time other programs, which provided food, failed because they did not take into account
regional habits. Here in So Paulo, for instance, the Federal Government distributed tons of black beans,
which are only eaten in Rio. People threw it away.
The Bolsa Famlia Program is far from being universally accepted by the Brazilian society. Among the various
criticisms it receives, one of the most recurrent is the assertion that it could discourage the search for employment,
encouraging laziness of people. Under this premise, many people would give up trying to find a job, content, instead,
to live on the Bolsa Famlia program.Wikipedia:Citation needed.
[12]
The World Bank, however, finds that the
Bolsa Famlia
4
program does not discourage work, nor social ascension. On the contrary, says Bndicte de la Brire, responsible
for the program monitoring at the institution:
"Adult work is not impacted by income transfers. In some cases adults will even work harder because
having this safety net encourages them to assume greater risks in their activities"'
[13]
Another heavy criticism of the government program is the fact that it is perceived by opponents of the currently
ruling party as a program meant to "buy" votes of poor people, creating clientelism.
Many Brazilians, though, recognize that the Bolsa Famlia program has a potential for reducing absolute poverty and
to reduce inter-generational transmission of poverty. For one example among many, Renata de Camargo Nacimento
(heir to the powerful, Brazilian multi-billionaire Camargo Correa Group), when asked in an interview if she agreed
that Bolsa Famlia is just a form of charity, answered as follows: "I travel a lot around Brazil and see many places
where the average monthly income is BRL 50 (approximately US$ 26.32). In these places the Bolsa Familia comes
in and adds an extra BRL 58. It makes all the difference in the world and adds a lot for the needy population. What is
more important is that it promotes a virtuous circle. If there is more money in circulation, the local market heats up,
the purchasing power is increased and the effects spread throughout the whole economy. But only to give money is
not enough.(...)"
[14]
Surveys conducted by the Federal Government among Bolsa Famlia's beneficiaries indicate that the money is spent,
in order of priority, on food; school supplies; clothing; and shoes.
[15]
A study conducted by The Federal University
of Pernambuco, using sophisticated statistical methods, inferred that 87% of the money is used, by families living in
rural areas, to buy food.
[16]
Effects
The program has clearly contributed to Brazil's recent improvements in its fight against poverty, according to
research promoted by some universities and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). An ex ante
econometric evaluation of Bolsa Escola did find significant effects on both school attendance rates and the number
of children involved in child labor.
[17][18]
The World Bank, which provided a loan to assist the Brazilian government in managing the Bolsa Famlia
Program,
[19]
declares that "Although the program is relatively young, some results are already apparent, including:
(...) contributions to improved education outcomes, and impacts on childrens growth, food consumption, and diet
quality".
[20]
A study by the UNDP's International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth
[21]
found that over 80% of the Bolsa
Familia benefits go to families in poverty (making under half the minimum wage per capita), thus most of the
benefits go to the poor. Bolsa Familia was also found to have been responsible for about 20% of the drop in
inequality in Brazil since 2001, which is welcome in one of the most unequal countries on the planet.
[22]
Research
promoted by the World Bank shows a significant reduction in child labor exploitation among children benefited by
the Bolsa Famlia program.
[23]
One positive effect of the program which is not immediately apparent is that it makes a significant impact on the
ability of the poorest families to eat. Children in public schools receive one free meal a day two in the poorest
areas and so less of their family's limited income is needed to pay for food. In a survey of Bolsa Familia recipients,
82.4% reported eating better; additionally, it was reported to increase the incomes of the poorer families by about
25%.
[24]
Bolsa Famlia
5
References
[1] Decree n 5.209, de 17 de setembro de 2004 Regulates a Law-010.836-2004 Bolsa Famlia Program. (http:/ / www. dji. com. br/ decretos/
2004-005209/ 2004-005209. htm)
[2] Happy families: An anti-poverty scheme invented in Latin America is winning converts worldwide. The Americas: Brazil in The Economist
print edition, MACEI: Feb 7th 2008 (http:/ / www.economist. com/ world/ la/ displaystory. cfm?story_id=10650663)
[3] Famlia: Changing the Lives of Millions in Brazil, The World Bank, Aug/22/2007 (http:/ / web. worldbank. org/ WBSITE/ EXTERNAL/
COUNTRIES/ LACEXT/ BRAZILEXTN/ 0,,contentMDK:21444879~isCURL:Y~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:322341,00.
html''Bolsa)
[4] BRANDO JR., Nilson Brando e ARAGO, Marianna. Misria no Brasil cai 27,7% no 1 mandato de Lula, Economia e Negcios, O
Estado de S. Paulo, 20/09/2007, p. B14 (http:/ / www.estadao. com. br/ noticias/
impresso,miseria-no-brasil-cai-277-no-1-mandato-de-lula,54881,0. htm)
[5] FGV divulga estudo mostrando reduo da misria, Reuters, 21/09/2006 (http:/ / noticias. terra. com. br/ brasil/ interna/
0,,OI1151870-EI306,00.html)
[6] MDS website (http:/ / www.mds. gov. br/ bolsafamilia/ o_programa_bolsa_familia/ beneficios-e-contrapartidas)
[7] MfDR Sourcebook (http:/ / www. mfdr.org/ sourcebook/ 6-1Brazil-BolsaFamilia. pdf)
[8] The Economist, Novo Pensamento sobre um Problema Antigo (http:/ / ouvidoria. petrobras. com. br/ PaginaDinamica. asp?Grupo=254&
Publicacao=156& APRES=PUBL)
[9] Para ministro, fim da CPMF poderia acabar com o Bolsa Famlia, Agncia Brasil (http:/ / www. agenciabrasil. gov. br/ noticias/ 2007/ 09/ 04/
materia. 2007-09-04. 5687737617/ view)
[10] News and Broadcast Brazils Bolsa Familia Program Celebrates Progress in Lifting Families out of Poverty (http:/ / web. worldbank. org/
WBSITE/ EXTERNAL/ NEWS/ 0,,contentMDK:20702063~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00. html)
[11] DORIA, Pedro. O tamanho do Brasil pobre, Alis, in O Estado de S. Paulo, 26/08/2007 (http:/ / www. estadao. com. br/ suplementos/
not_sup40930,0. htm)
[12] "Lula and the poetry of misery", Reinaldo Azevedo, 29/7/09 (http:/ / veja. abril. com. br/ blog/ reinaldo/ geral/ lula-e-a-poesia-da-miseria/ )
(in Portuguese)
[13] BRAMATTI, Daniel. Banco Mundial v Bolsa Famlia como modelo., So Paulo: Poltica, Terra Magazine, Sep. 17, 2007, 08h18 (http:/ /
terramagazine.terra. com. br/ interna/ 0,,OI1906421-EI6578,00. html)
[14] HAAG, Carlos. O Discreto Charme Da Solidariedade, an Interview with Renata de Camargo Nascimento, So Paulo: Private Brokers, Year
IV, Nr. 16, SEPT/OCT/NOV 2007, P. 41
[15] Bolsa Famlia, Perguntas e Respostas, Veja Online (http:/ / veja. abril. com. br/ idade/ exclusivo/ bolsa_familia/ 08. html)
[16] DUARTE, Gislia Benini, et al. Impactos do Programa Bolsa Famlia Sobre Os gastos Com Alimentos De Famlias Rurais. (http:/ / www.
bnb. gov.br/ content/ aplicacao/ Eventos/ ForumBNB2007/ docs/ impactos-do-programa. pdf)
[17] SSRN-Ex-ante Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: The Case of Bolsa Escola by Francois Bourguignon, Francisco Ferreira,
Phillippe Leite (http:/ / papers. ssrn. com/ sol3/ papers.cfm?abstract_id=358407)
[18] RAWLINGS, Laura B. e RUBIO, Gloria M. Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs - Lessons from Latin America,
Volume 1, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3119, August 2003, The World Bank, 2003. (http:/ / go. worldbank. org/
L7RZYL07J0)
[19] Bolsa Familia Project, The World Bank (http:/ / www-wds. worldbank. org/ external/ default/ main?pagePK=64193027&
piPK=64187937& theSitePK=523679& menuPK=64187510& searchMenuPK=64187283& siteName=WDS&
entityID=000160016_20040610095010''Brazil)
[20] Brazils Bolsa Familia Program Celebrates Progress in Lifting Families out of Poverty, News & Broadcast, The World Bank, Brasilia,
Brazil, December 19, 2005 (http:/ / web.worldbank. org/ WBSITE/ EXTERNAL/ NEWS/
0,,contentMDK:20702063~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00. html)
[21] http:/ / www.ipc-undp. org/
[22] untitled (http:/ / www. undp-povertycentre.org/ newsletters/ WorkingPaper21. pdf)
[23] YAP, Yoon-Tien, Guilherme Sedlacek and Peter Orazem. 2001. Limiting Child Labor Through Behavior-Based Income Transfers: An
Experimental Evaluation of the PETI Program in Rural Brazil. World Bank, Washington, DC
[24] Microsoft PowerPoint Mutzig_CCTs in MIC_Brazil_06-26_III.b.ppt (http:/ / info. worldbank. org/ etools/ icct06/ DOCS/ English/ Day1/
Mutzig_CCTs in MIC_Brazil. pdf)
Bolsa Famlia
6
External links
Happy families: An anti-poverty scheme invented in Latin America is winning converts worldwide. The Americas:
Brazil in The Economist print edition, MACEI: Feb 7th 2008 (http:/ / www. economist. com/ world/ la/
displaystory.cfm?story_id=10650663)
(Portuguese) Ministry of Social Development website (http:/ / www. mds. gov. br/ programas/
transferencia-de-renda/ programa-bolsa-familia)
World Bank review of Bolsa Famlia (http:/ / www. mfdr. org/ sourcebook/ 6-1Brazil-BolsaFamilia. pdf)
"Bolsa Famlia: Changing the Lives of Millions in Brazil" (http:/ / web. worldbank. org/ WBSITE/ EXTERNAL/
COUNTRIES/ LACEXT/ BRAZILEXTN/
0,,contentMDK:21447054~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:322341,00. html), The World Bank,
Aug/22/2007
Economist article on Bolsa Famlia (http:/ / www. economist. com/ cities/ displaystory. cfm?story_id=4408187)
MDS monitoring of Bolsa Familia (http:/ / info. worldbank. org/ etools/ ICCT06/ DOCS/ English/ Day5/
Emil_Romulo_Monitoring PerformanceEN. pdf)
Inter-American Development Bank press release regarding Bolsa Familia (http:/ / www. iadb. org/ news/
articledetail. cfm?language=English& artid=1334& artType=PR)
(Portuguese) Article on Bolsa Familia and increases in class attendance (http:/ / ultimosegundo. ig. com. br/
materias/ educacao/ 2027001-2027500/ 2027424/ 2027424_1. xml)
MUTZIG, Jean Marc. The Bolsa Famlia Grants Program, Ministry of Social Development and Hunger
Eradication, Brazil. Istanbul, Turkey: Third International Conference on Conditional Cash Transfers, June 26,
2006 (Powerpoint summary of BFP) (http:/ / info. worldbank. org/ etools/ icct06/ DOCS/ English/ Day1/
Mutzig_CCTs in MIC_Brazil. pdf)
Bibliography
BRITTO, Tatiana Feitosa de. Conditional Cash Transfers: Why Have They Become So Prominent in Recent
Poverty Reduction Strategies in Latin America. Institute of Social Studies 390(2004) (http:/ / adlib. iss. nl/ adlib/
uploads/ wp/ wp390. pdf)
RAWLINGS, Laura B. e RUBIO, Gloria M. Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs
Lessons from Latin America, Volume 1, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3119, August 2003, The
World Bank, 2003. (http:/ / go. worldbank. org/ L7RZYL07J0)
YAP, Yoon-Tien, Guilherme Sedlacek and Peter Orazem. 2001. Limiting Child Labor Through Behavior-Based
Income Transfers: An Experimental Evaluation of the PETI Program in Rural Brazil. World Bank, Washington,
DC
WORLD BANK. 2001a. Brazil: An Assessment of the Bolsa Escola Programs. Human Development Department,
Latin America and Caribbean Region, The World Bank, Washington, DC.
Article Sources and Contributors
7
Article Sources and Contributors
Bolsa Famlia Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=616422192 Contributors: AdemarReis, Adirlanz, Altzinn, Andy Marchbanks, Artea20a, Bernardo.bb, Bgwhite, Bombastus,
Bramlet Abercrombie, Chicocvenancio, ChrisWar666, Dalillama, Dantadd, Dave Harris, Dtrielli, Edward, Epistemenical, HenrikKbh, Heroeswithmetaphors, Hugo999, Int21h, JaumeR, John of
Reading, Joseph Solis in Australia, Jpeeling, Levirius, Lulu Margarida, Macgreco, Marcos vicente, Matthew Yeager, Missionary, Niceguyedc, Nick Number, Nikosgreencookie, NovaSTL,
OneWorld22, R'n'B, Rmky87, Saarlnder, Sun Creator, Tabletop, The Gnome, The Vintage Feminist, Tonyzwlu, Trainra, Underlying lk, VQuakr, Voxpop101, Wescbell, Woohookitty,
Writtenonsand, Xyzzyva, Zictor23, 95 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Bolsa Ananias.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bolsa_Ananias.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Marcello Casal JR/ABr
File:Lulaspeech.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lulaspeech.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Contributors: Ricardo Stuckert/PR
File:Bolsa Escola.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bolsa_Escola.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Wilson Dias/ABr
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