Bolsa Família after Brasil Carinhoso: an Analysis of the Potential for Reducing Extreme Poverty

Abstract

The Bolsa Família Programme (Programa Bolsa Família – PBF) is a monthly cash transfer from the Brazilian federal government to poor and extremely poor families enrolled in the Single Registry of Social Programmes. Since 2009, transfers last for a minimum period of two years, regardless of changes in household income. However, a family may no longer receive transfers if it fails to abide by certain conditions, such as ensuring that children and adolescents in the family go to school and achieve attendance rates of least 85 per cent during the school year for beneficiary children aged 6-15 and 75 per cent for teenagers aged 16-17. These characteristics classify the PBF as a targeted and conditional cash transfer programme. (…)