Bolsa Família Program
Problems addressed
Homicides
Robberies
Thefts
Crime and delinquency (multiple types)
Socioeconomic vulnerability
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Residence / home
Country of application
Brazil
Description

This is a conditional cash transfer program implemented in Brazil since the 2000s. The program provides cash transfers for families below the poverty line, with an additional payment per child.
The Bolsa Família Program was institutionalized by Federal Law No. 10836/2004, which unified and expanded several pre-existing social programs in the country, and only considered children under 15 years of age initially. As time went by, the program started to cover children up to 17 years of age. Program conditions include vaccination and school attendance.
Aimed at low-income individuals, it is the largest program of its kind in the world, serving some 12 million families, which corresponds to approximately 50 million people, i.e., a quarter of the Brazilian population, at an estimated cost of 0.4% of the federal budget. The permanence of families in the program depends on compliance with conditionalities in the areas of healthcare and education.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation found a robust and significant impact of the Bolsa Família Program on crime. The study argues that the reduction in inequality provided by the program brought about a reduction in crime rates, which reinforces the connection between equality and crime [1]. Another study also found a significant reduction in robberies, thefts, and kidnappings [2].
As for homicides, one of the studies concluded that the program had no impact [2], while, according to another, the results are inconclusive [1].
Regarding robberies, one of the studies suggests that the program has led to a reduction in this type of crime in the country, indicating that crimes against property are more sensitive to cash transfer programs than crimes against people. In this case, the authors found robust evidence that the expansion of the program (to cover 16- and 17-year-olds) has led to a roughly 21% reduction in robberies and thefts in areas near the beneficiaries’ schools [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Chioda, L., Mello, J. M. de y Soares, R. R. (2016). Spillovers from conditional cash transfer programs: Bolsa Família and crime in urban Brazil. Economics of Education Review, 54(2), 306–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.04.005

[2] Loureiro, A. O. F. (2013). Essays on Crime, Hysteresis, Poverty and Conditional Cash Transfers. The University of Edinburgh. https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/7913

Information source