The Social Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers: Brazil’s Bolsa Família Experience

Öz

This article examines Brazil’s Bolsa Família program, implemented since 2003, as a case of social assistance policy, analyzing its multifaceted impacts on poverty alleviation, access to education and health services, and gender equality. Rather than focusing solely on the program’s quantitative outcomes, the study engages with its institutional limitations and structural implications. Anchored in Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, the analysis explores the program’s potential to transform individual lives, while drawing on Foucault’s notions of biopower and surveillance to assess its disciplinary dimensions. Although the program has achieved significant short-term outreach, its capacity to produce lasting change in poverty and inequality remains limited. The article highlights the importance of assessing social policy not only through statistical indicators but also through its potential for qualitative transformation. Ultimately, it argues that conditional cash transfer programs must be critically re-evaluated not just as mechanisms for behavioral compliance but also as tools for empowering individuals and expanding substantive freedoms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Social assistance
• conditional cash transfers
• Bolsa Família
• capability approach
• biopower
• social policy

Koşullu Nakit Transferlerinin Toplumsal Etkileri: Brezilya’da Bolsa Família Deneyimi

Öz

Bu çalışma, Brezilya’da 2003 yılından bu yana uygulanan Bolsa Família programını sosyal yardım politikalarının bir örneği olarak ele almakta ve programın yoksullukla mücadele, eğitim, sağlık hizmetlerine erişim ve toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği üzerindeki etkilerini çok boyutlu bir biçimde değerlendirmektedir. Çalışma, yalnızca programın niceliksel başarılarını değil, aynı zamanda kurumsal sınırlarını ve yapısal etkilerini de tartışmaya açmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, Amartya Sen’in yetenekler yaklaşımı temel alınarak sosyal yardımların bireylerin yaşamlarını dönüştürme kapasitesi irdelenmiş, Foucault’nun biyoiktidar ve gözetim kavramlarıyla programın disiplin edici yönleri analiz edilmiştir. Programın kısa vadeli erişim başarısına rağmen, bireyleri kalıcı olarak yoksulluktan çıkarma ve toplumsal eşitsizlikleri dönüştürme konularında sınırlılıklar taşıdığı ortaya konmuştur. Ayrıca sosyal politikaların etkilerini yalnızca istatistiksel verilerle değil, niteliksel dönüşüm potansiyelleriyle değerlendirme gerekliliği vurgulanmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, koşullu nakit transfer programlarının bireysel davranışları yönlendirme kapasitesi kadar, bireyleri güçlendirme ve toplumsal özgürlükleri artırma kabiliyetinin de eleştirel bir gözle yeniden düşünülmesi gerektiği savunulmaktadır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sosyal yardım
• koşullu nakit transferleri
• Bolsa Família
• yetenekler yaklaşımı
• biyoiktidar
• sosyal politika

Kaynakça

1. da Conceição Teixeira, M., ve de Oliveira, B. R. (2022). Efeitos sociais derivados da implementação de políticas públicas: uma análise do Programa Bolsa-Família. O Social em Questão, 1(52), 155-176. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=552269635008 google scholar
2. de Brauw, A. Gilligan, D.O., Hoddinott, J., ve Roy, S. (2012). The Impact of Bolsa Família on Women’s Decision-Making Power, World Development, 59, 487-504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.02.003 google scholar
3. de Brauw, A., Gilligan, D.O., Hoddinott, J., ve Roy, S. (2014). The impact of Bolsa Família on Schooling: Girls’ Advantage Increases and Older Children Gain. Labor: Demographics & Economics of the Family eJournal. google scholar
4. de Oliveira, L.J., Corrêa, M.B., Nascimento, G.G., Goettems, M.L., Tarquinio, S.B., Torriani, D.D., ve Demarco, F.F. (2013). Inequalities in oral health: are schoolchildren receiving the Bolsa Família more vulnerable? Revista de Saúde Pública, 47, 1039-1047. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2013047004688 google scholar
5. de Souza, P. H. G. F., Osorio, R.G., ve Soares, S.S.D. (2011). Uma methodology para simular o Programa Bolsa Família, Texto para Discussão, No. 1654, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), Brasília. https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/91075 google scholar
6. de Souza, A. A. ve Heller, L. (2021). Programa Bolsa Família e saneamento: uma revisão sistemática dos efeitos na diarreia e na desnutrição. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 26(8), 3087–3098. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232021268.07362020 google scholar
7. de Souza, L.H., ve Ney, M.G. (2023). Impacto do Programa Bolsa Família Na Extrema Pobreza E Pobreza No Meio Rural E Urbano Das Grandes Regıões Brasileiras De Acordo Com A Pnad Contínua De 2019. Revista Estudo & Debate, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.22410/issn.1983-036X.v30i2a2023.3285 google scholar
8. Alves, H., ve Escorel, S. (2013). Social exclusion and health inequity: a case study based on a cash distribution program (Bolsa Família ) in Brazil/Processos de exclusao social e iniquidades em saude: um estudo de caso a partir do programa Bolsa Família , Brasil. Revista Panamericana de Salud Publica, 34(6). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A365455047/IFME? google scholar

9. Álvarez-Iglesias, A., Bauer, A., Evans-Lacko, S., Matijasevich, A., ve Paula, C. S. (2021). COVID-19 in Brazil: Opportunity to integrate mental health in the Programa Bolsa Família. Psicologia: Teoria e Prática, 23(3), 1–15. doi:10.5935/1980- 6906/ePTPIC14853 google scholar
10. Bonfim C, Alves F, Fialho É, Naslund J.A., Barreto M.L., Patel, V., ve Machado, D.B.(2024) Conditional cash transfers and mortality in people hospitalised with psychiatric disorders: A cohort study of the Brazilian Bolsa Família Programme. PLOS Medicine 21(12): e1004486. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004486 google scholar
11. Bartholo, L. (2016). Bolsa Família and gender relations: national survey results. https://repositorio.ipea.gov.br/handle/11058/15166 google scholar
12. Bartholo, L., Passos, L., ve Fontoura, N. (2019). Bolsa Família, autonomia feminina e equidade de gênero: o que indicam as pesquisas nacionais?, cadernos pagu, 55:e195525, 1-33, https://doi.org/10.1590/18094449201900550025 google scholar
13. Bither-Terry, R. (2014). Reducing Poverty Intensity: What Alternative Poverty Measures Reveal about the Impact of Brazil's Bolsa Família. Latin American Politics and Society, 56, 143-158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2014.00252.x google scholar
14. Bither-Terry, R. (2014). Reducing Poverty Intensity: What Alternative Poverty Measures Reveal about the Impact of Brazil's Bolsa Família. Latin American Politics and Society, 56, 143 - 158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2014.00252.x google scholar
15. Carvalho, A.T., Almeida, É.R., ve Jaime, P.C. (2014). Condicionalidades em saúde do programa Bolsa Família – Brasil: uma análise a partir de profissionais da saúde. Saude E Sociedade, 23, 1370-1382. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902014000400020 google scholar
16. Cotta, R.M., ve Machado, J.C. (2013). The Bolsa Família cash transfer program and food and nutrition security in Brazil: a critical review of the literature. Revista panamericana de salud publica (Pan American Journal of Public Health),33(1), 54-60. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23440158/ google scholar
17. Daulay, S.A., ve Dompak, T. (2025). The Role Of Public Policy In Addressing Global Poverty And Inequality: Case Studies In Developing Countries. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 2(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijss.v2i1.180 google scholar
18. Duarte, G.B., Sampaio, B.F., ve Sampaio, Y. (2009). Programa Bolsa Família: impacto das transferências sobre os gastos com alimentos em famílias rurais. Revista De Economia E Sociologia Rural, 47, 903-918. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-20032009000400005 google scholar
19. Fahel, M., Canaan, M., CaBral, B., ve Bahia, M. (2012). O impacto do Bolsa Família na inclusão educacional: análise da matrícula escolar em Minas Gerais/The impact of the Family Scholarship Program on educational inclusion: analysis of school enrollments in Minas Gerais SER Social, Brasília, 14(30), 98-126. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mariana-Canaan/publication/333499614_O_impacto_do_Bolsa_Familia_na_inclusao_educacional/links/5e0cd01f92851c8364ab701c/O-impacto-do-Bolsa-Familia-na-inclusao-educacional.pdf google scholar
20. Fassarella, E., Ferreira, S., Franco, S., Neto, V.P., Ribeiro, G., Schuabb, V., ve Tafner, P. (2024). Social Mobility and CCT Programs: The Bolsa Família Program in Brazil, World Development Perspectives, 35: 100624, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2024.100624 google scholar
21. Fietz, K., Morgandi, M., de Oliveira, G. L. ve Superti, L. H. (2024). Does Local Employment Growth Accelerate Exits from Social Assistance? Evidence from Brazil’s Conditional Cash Transfer Bolsa Família. Policy Research Working Paper No. 10676. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/a2722534-eb53-4417-b9aa-f7f51a780655 google scholar
22. Filho, A.A., Dimenstein, M., Belarmino, V.H., Leite, J.F., Dantas, C., ve Macedo, J.P. (2020). Efeitos da gestão do Bolsa Família no cotidiano de mulheres quilombolas rurais. Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho, 20(3), 1132-1140. https://doi.org/10.17652/ rpot/2020.3.19331 google scholar
23. Ford K.J., Lourenço B.H., Cobayashi F., ve Cardoso M.A. (2020). Health outcomes of the Bolsa Família program among Brazilian Amazonian children. Rev Saude Publica, 54:2, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054001519 google scholar
24. Foucault, M. (2013). Hapishanenin Doğuşu, (Çev.M.A. Kılıçbay). Ankara: İmge. google scholar
25. Goés, C., ve Karpowicz, I. (2017). Inequality in Brazil: A Closer Look at the Evolution in States, içinde Brazil: Boom, Bust and the Road to Recovery, (Ed. A. Spilimbergo, K. Srinivasan). Washington DC: International Monetary Fund. google scholar
26. Hall, A.L. (2006). From Fome Zero to Bolsa Família: Social Policies and Poverty Alleviation under Lula. Journal of Latin American Studies, 38, 689- 709. google scholar
27. Kuklys, W., ve Robeyns, I. (2005). Sen's Capability Approach to Welfare Economics. In W. Kuklys (Ed.), Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach: Theoretical Insights and Empirical Applications (pp. 9–30). Springer. google scholar
28. Lindert, K., Linder, A., Hobbs, J., ve de la Brière, B. (2007). The nuts and bolts of Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program: implementing conditional cash transfers in a decentralized context. World Bank social protection discussion paper, 709. google scholar
29. Magalhães, J., Ziebold, C., Evans-Lacko, S., Matjasevich, A. ve Paula, C.S. (2024). Health, economic and social impacts of the Brazilian cash transfer program on the lives of its beneficiaries: a scoping review. BMC Public Health 24:2818, ss.1-28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20046-2 google scholar
30. Mariano, S. (2019). Gender and Feminine Autonomy in Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program, International Journal of Business and Social Science, 10(7), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.30845/IJBSS.V10N7P7 google scholar
31. Martins, A.P., ve Monteiro, C.A. (2016). Impact of the Bolsa Família program on food availability of low-income Brazilian families: a quasi experimental study. BMC Public Health, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3486-y google scholar
32. Mele, M. E., ve Moi, J. E. (2024). Influence of the INUA JAMII program on the welfare of its beneficiaries in Mvita Constituency, Mombasa County. International Academic Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2(1), 26-51. https://iajournals.org/articles/iajah_v1_i4_487_504.pdf google scholar
33. Mourão, L., ve Jesus, A.M. (2011). Programa Bolsa Família: uma análise do programa de transferência de renda brasileiro, Field Actions Science Reports, Special Issue 3, http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/1319 google scholar
34. Neto, A., Santos, A., ve Prates, T. (2020). How Bolsa Família Program Impacts On Basic Education? An Analysis for the Brazilian Northeast. Revista Econômica do Nordeste. 51(1), 51-72. https://doi.org/10.61673/ren.2020.955. google scholar
35. Neves, J.A., Zangirolani, L.T., ve de Medeiros, M.A. (2021). Health services, intersectoriality and social control: a comparative study on a conditional income transfer program. Global Health Promotion, 29, 14- 22.https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975921996150 google scholar
36. Oliveira, F.D., Cotta, R.M., Sant'Ana, L.F., Priore, S.E., ve Franceschini, S. (2011). Programa Bolsa Família e estado nutricional infantil: desafios estratégicos. Ciencia & Saude Coletiva, 16, 3307-3316. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011000800030 google scholar
37. Origenes, A., Nishimura, H.M., Fernald, L., ve Reynolds, S. (2023). Associations between Bolsa Família and Women’s Empowerment: Exclusive and Joint Decision-Making Two to Three Years after Implementation. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-36. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4421462 google scholar
38. Paula, A., Feijó, S., ve Pires, A. (2015). A Frequência Escolar e a Educação a partir do ponto de vista das Beneficiárias do Programa Bolsa Família The School Attendance and Education from the point of view of "Bolsa Família" Cash Transfer Program beneficiaries. . https://doi.org/10.14244/19827199981 google scholar
39. Palombo, C. N. T., Oliveira, M. M. C., Whitaker, M. C. O., Araújo, R. P. D. S., Santos, C. D. J., Passos, M. C. B., … ve Souza, E. A. (2024). Use and filling out of the child health booklet among beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil: a cross- sectional study, 2023. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde, 33, e2024498.https://doi.org/10.1590/S2237-96222024V33E2024498.EN google scholar
40. Paugam, S. (1996). Poverty and Social Disqualification: a Comparative Analysis of Cumulative Social Disadvantage in Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, 6(4), 287-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879600600402 google scholar
41. Passos, L., ve Waltenberg, F.D. (2016). Bolsa Família e assimetrias de gênero: reforço ou mitigação? Revista Brasileira de Estudos de População, 33, 517-539. https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-30982016C0004 google scholar
42. Petrola, K. A. F., Bezerra, Í. B., de Menezes, É. A. V., Calvasina, P., Saintrain, M. V. L., ve Vieira-Meyer, A. P. G. F. (2016). Provision of oral health care to children under seven covered by Bolsa Família Program. Is this a reality? PLOS ONE, 11(8), e0161244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161244 google scholar
43. Prado Proença, R. (2024). Three Essays in Development Economics. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37379818 google scholar
44. Rasella, D., Jesus, G., Pinto, P., Silva, A., Cavalcanti, D., Lua, I., Ichihara, M., Barreto, M., Boccia, D., ve Sanchez, M. (2024). The effect of conditional cash transfers on tuberculosis incidence and mortality is determined by ethnoracial and socioeconomic factors: a cohort study of 54 million individuals in Brazil. Research Square, rs.3.rs-4272509. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4272509/v1 google scholar
45. Rawlings, L.B. ve Rubio, G.M. (2005). Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs. The World Bank Research Observer, 20(1), 29-55. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lki001 google scholar
46. Rego, W. L., ve Pinzani, A. (2024). "Chapter 14: Conditional cash: the case of the Brazilian Bolsa Família". In Research Handbook on Social Welfare Law. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved Mar 3, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800379428.00028 google scholar
47. Rocha, S. (2011). O programa Bolsa Família: evolução e efeitos sobre a pobreza. Economia E Sociedade, 20, 113-139. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-06182011000100005 google scholar
48. Santos, M. C. S., Delatorre, L. R., Ceccato, M. D. G. B., ve Bonolo, P. D. F. (2019). The Bolsa Família Program and educational indicators of children, adolescents, and schools in Brazil: a systematic review/Programa Bolsa Família e indicadores educacionais em criancas, adolescentes e escolas no Brasil: revisao sistematica. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 24(6), 2233-2247. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A594429380/AONE?u=anon~4b87810a&sid=googleScholar&xid=d6ba6b1e google scholar
49. Santos Silva, L., da Conceição Barbosa, R.B., Lima, J.P., Catro-Alves, J., ve Ribeiro-Alves, M. (2020). Racial Inequalities in the Health Establishment Access to the Treatment of COVID-19 in Brazil in 2020. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 12, 222–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01866-1 google scholar
50. Sánchez-Ancochea, D., ve Mattei, L. (2011). Bolsa Família, poverty and inequality: Political and economic effects in the short and long run. Global Social Policy, 11, 299- 318. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468018111421297 google scholar
51. Scherrer, I.R.S., ve Alves, C.R.L. (2021). Association of maternal depression, family composition and poverty with maternal care and physical health of children in the first year of life. J Hum Growth Dev. 31(1):18-27. doi: 10.36311/jhgd.v31.10859 google scholar
52. Sen, A. (1990). Development as capability expansion. Human development and the international development strategy for the 1990s, 1(1), 41-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21136-4_3 google scholar
53. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. google scholar
54. Silva, M.M.C., ve Souza, M.J. (2020). Programa Bolsa Família e a educação no Brasil içinde Educação Contemporânea Volume 04 Educação Inclusiva, Reflexões. www.poisson.com.br google scholar
55. Silveira Neto, R.M., ve Azzoni, C.R. (2012) Social policy as regional policy: market and nonmarket factors determining regional inequality. Journal of Regional Science, 52(3), p. 422-450. google scholar
56. Simões, A., ve Sabates, R. (2014). The contribution of Bolsa Família to the educational achievement of economically disadvantaged children in Brazil. International Journal of Educational Development, 39, 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJEDUDEV.2014.07.012. google scholar
57. Sperandio, N., Rodrigues, C.T., Franceschini, S.C.C., ve Priore, S.E. (2016). Impact of the Bolsa Família Program on energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intakes: Study of the Northeast and Southeast. Revista de Nutrição, 29(6):833-844. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652016000600008 google scholar
58. Soares, F. V., S. S. Soares, M. M. Sousa, ve R. G. Osório (2006). “Cash Transfer Programmes in Brazil: Impacts on Inequality and Poverty”. Working Paper n. 21, International Poverty Centre, Brasilia. 2006. google scholar
59. Soares, S.,ve Sátyro, N.G. (2009). O Programa Bolsa Família: desenho institucional, impactos e possibilidades futuras. Texto para Discussão, No. 1424, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), Brasília. google scholar
60. Soares, S. S. D., Ribas, R. P., ve Osório, R. G. (2010). Evaluating the impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Família: Cash transfer programs in comparative perspective. Latin American Research Review, 45(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1353/lar.2010.0010 google scholar
61. Sperandio, N., Rodrigues, C.T., Franceschini, S.C., ve Priore, S.E. (2016). Impact of the Bolsa Família Program on energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intakes: Study of the Northeast and Southeast. Revista De Nutricao-brazilian Journal of Nutrition, 29, 833-844. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-98652016000600008 google scholar
62. Spolaor, D., ve Bölter, S. G. (2024). Programa Social Bolsa-Família: consolidação da cidadania e implicações para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico no Brasil. Observatório de la Economía Latınoamericana, 22(9), e6732. https://doi.org/10.55905/oelv22n9-113 google scholar
63. Suzart, A. S., Ferreira, A. P., Lemos, G. C. S. M., Correa, G. T. B., Bonfatti, R. J., ve Oliveira, M. H. B. (2017). Repercussões do programa bolsa família na segurança alimentar e nutricional: um estudo de caso. Revista Baiana de Saúde Pública, 41(3). https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/portal/resource/pt/biblio-906428 google scholar
64. Tiburcio, J. (2018). Bolsa Família and Brazil: A Non-Systematic Literature Review, REPATS, 5(1), 60-100, https://doi.org/10.31501/repats.v5i1.9771 google scholar
65. Townsend, P. (1979/2024). Poverty in the United Kingdom: A survey of household resources and standards of living. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California. google scholar
66. UNICEF. (2023). Cash Transfer Programs in Brazil: The New Bolsa Família and Its Predecessors. Social Protection Series – Policy Brief #2. Brasília: UNICEF and Brazilian Cooperation Agency. https://ssc4c.org.br/index.php/en/central-de-conhecimento/brazil-good- practices/policy-brief-2-cash-transfer-programs-brazil-new google scholar
67. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2024). Microsimulation of the Auxílio Brasil extraordinary benefit of BRL 600 per household and alternatives. Brasília: UNDP Brazil. https://www.undp.org/pt/brazil/publications/bolsa-familia-microsimulation-auxilio-brasil-extraordinary-benefit-brl-600-household-and-alternatives google scholar
68. Viana, R.B., Rocha-Silva, R., Morais, M.J., Coswig, V.S., Simim, M.A.M., Vancini, R.L., Andrade, M.S., ve Lira, C.A.B. (2024). Sports and Leisure Coverage in Brazil: An Analysis of the Last 20 Years. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6: 1347212. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1347212 google scholar
69. World Bank. (2023). New Bolsa Família: Challenges and Opportunities for 2023. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/brazil/brief/brazil-new-bolsa-familia-challenges-and-opportunities-for-2023 google scholar