Brazil’s Bolsa Familia: Neighborhood and Racial Group Networks

Marcelo Arbex, Jessica Faciroli (), Ricardo da Silva Freguglia () and Marcel Marcel de Toledo Vieira ()
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Jessica Faciroli: Department of Economics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil
Ricardo da Silva Freguglia: Department of Economics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil
Marcel Marcel de Toledo Vieira: Department of Statistics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

No 2201, Working Papers from University of Windsor, Department of Economics

Abstract: Are families that live in the same neighborhood and share similar characteristics more likely to participate in welfare programs? Using a unique administrative data set, we study beneficiaries of the Bolsa Familia - the Brazilian cash transfer program - from 2013 to 2015. We analyze data containing information on the living conditions of the most vulnerable families, such as income, household characteristics, schooling, and disability. An eight-digit zip code defines a neighborhood. Families form a network if they live in the same neighborhood and belong to the same racial group. We provide evidence that place of residence and racial group networks are important determinants of the family participation in the program. Individuals in a neighborhood-racial group network are 6.5% more likely to participate in the Bolsa Familia. We conduct several robustness checks - controlling for family unobserved characteristics, network density and coverage (percentiles) distributions - to further qualify our results.

Keywords: Social Program Participation; Social Network; Neighborhood; Race Composition; Bolsa Familia Program; Brazil. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H53 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2022-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-net, nep-soc and nep-ure
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Journal Article: Brazil’s Bolsa Família: Neighborhood and Racial Group Networks (2023)
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