The Impact of Cash Transfers on Child Labor and School Enrollment in Brazil

Abstract

Bolsa Escola programs give cash grants to poor families with children between the ages of 7 and 14 in exchange for a promise that the families will send their children to school. Households risk losing a month of benefits if their children miss too many days of school per month. The income transfer aims to reduce the current incidence of poverty among disadvantaged households. By requiring more regular school attendance, the programs also aim to increase educational attainment of poor children and thus reduce the likelihood that the children will be poor in the future. The monthly attendance requirement also implicitly aims to reduce child labor by using up child time.