Bolsa Família

Bolsa Família (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbowsɐ fɐˈmiʎɐ], Family Allowance) was a social welfare program of the Government of Brazil. Bolsa Família gave financial aid to poor Brazilian families. To be able to benefit from this program, families had to make sure that their children went to school and got vaccinated.

The program tried to lower both the short-term poverty by direct cash transfers and fight long-term poverty by increasing human capital through conditional cash transfers.

It also worked to give free education to children who couldn't afford to go to school, to show the importance of education.[1]

In 2008, The Economist said that Bolsa Família was an "anti-poverty scheme in Latin America [which] is winning [supporters] worldwide."[2] The program was an important policy of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's social programs, which many saw the reason for his re-election in 2006.[3] Bolsa Família was the largest conditional cash transfer program in the world.[4]

A study by the UNDP Poverty Centre found that over 80% of the Bolsa Familia benefits went to families in poverty (making under half the minimum wage per capita), making most of the benefits going to the poor.[5]

References
  1. Decree nº 5.209, de 17 de setembro de 2004 – Regulates a Law-010.836-2004 – Bolsa Família Program. Archived October 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Happy families". The Economist.
  3. "Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula's Reelection Prospects". The Washington Post. 2006-10-29.
  4. "Bolsa Família: Changing the Lives of Millions in Brazil, The World Bank, Aug/22/2007". worldbank.org.
  5. International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (UNDP/IPC-IG) Evaluation Note
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