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Health, economic and social impacts of the Brazilian cash transfer program on the lives of its beneficiaries: a scoping review

Author

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  • Magalhães, Júlia
  • Ziebold, Carolina
  • Evans-Lacko, Sara
  • Matijasevich, Alicia
  • Paula, Cristiane Silvestre

Abstract

Background The Bolsa Família cash transfer Program (BFP) aims to break the poverty cycle by providing a minimum income to poor families conditioned on their investment in human capital (such as, education and health) and currently is the largest Program in the world in terms of the number of beneficiaries. Because there is a scarcity of reviews grouping studies on the impacts of the BFP, the objective of this scoping review was to identify and describe studies which evaluate the impact of the BFP on poverty, health, education, and other related outcomes. Methods We searched for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method articles that assessed the impact of the BFP on any aspect of the beneficiaries' lives between 2003 and March 2021. We included quantitative articles that used experimental, quasi-experimental or pre and post comparison designs. We excluded articles that analyzed impacts on political outcomes. There was no age restriction for the participants. The search was done in seven electronic databases. Results One thousand five hundred forty-six papers were identified and 94 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Poverty and health outcomes were the most common outcomes studied. We found consistent evidence of the positive impact of the BFP on poverty reduction, as well as employment outcomes. We also found positive impacts in relation to mortality rates for children and adults, school dropout and school attendance among children and adolescents, and violence related outcomes such as homicide, suicide, crime, and hospitalization. However, we also found some evidence that BFP increased intimate partner violence and gender stereotypes among women and no evidence of impact on teenage pregnancy. Conclusions Overall, the studies included found that BFP showed positive impacts on most poverty, health and education outcomes. More studies are needed to confirm some results, especially about violence and stereotype against women as there were few evaluations on these outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Magalhães, Júlia & Ziebold, Carolina & Evans-Lacko, Sara & Matijasevich, Alicia & Paula, Cristiane Silvestre, 2024. "Health, economic and social impacts of the Brazilian cash transfer program on the lives of its beneficiaries: a scoping review," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125534, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:125534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:wbk:wbpubs:16091 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Labrecque, Jeremy A. & Kaufman, Jay S. & Balzer, Laura B. & Maclehose, Richard F. & Strumpf, Erin C. & Matijasevich, Alicia & Santos, Iná S. & Schmidt, Kelen H. & Barros, Aluísio J.D., 2018. "Effect of a conditional cash transfer program on length-for-age and weight-for-age in Brazilian infants at 24 months using doubly-robust, targeted estimation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 9-15.
    3. Anja Gaentzsch, 2020. "Do conditional cash transfers (CCTs) raise educational attainment? An impact evaluation of Juntos in Peru," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(6), pages 747-765, November.
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    1. Daryl Mark D. Jakosalem & Wilfredo Jr. C. Juntilla & Maria Araceli C. Juliano, 2026. "Combating Patronage Politics: Depoliticizing Ayuda Using John Rawls’ Distributive Justice in the Philippines," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(3), pages 5937-5951, March.
    2. Simon Peter Nsereko & Bruno Lule Yawe & Ibrahim Mukisa, 2026. "Effects of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Asset Accumulation Among Low‐Income Households in Rural Northern Uganda," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), June.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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