A Heterogeneity Analysis of the Bolsa Família Programme Effect on Men and Women’s Work Supply

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of the Programa Bolsa Família (PBF), Brazil’s Conditional Cash Transfer Programme), by way of an ‘income shock’ on the labour supply of beneficiaries as measured by probability of working and number of weekly hours worked by both men and women. Bolsa Família transfers are viewed as an income shock because they alter the income composition in terms of earned and unearned income. The analysis is undertaken using the values of the transfers as the treatment indicator to show how the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) varies according to the amount received. ATT estimates obtained from the Propensity Score Weighting method lead to the conclusion that PBF marginally diminishes the supply of weekly work hours of working adults. The heterogeneous impacts of the cash transfers on men and women depending upon how they are placed in formal and informal sectors, agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and wage rate ranges are also assessed. The results indicate a nil average effect on probability of working and a marginal reduction in the supply of labour hours for men and women. The impact is greater for informal workers and unpaid workers and is more significant for higher values of the transfers.