Brazil: Bolsa Familia

Question 1

What does Bolsa Familia do?

Answer 1

It hands out cash to the poor people, 65-200USD per month, and assumed poor people knew best how to spend it. Described by The Economist as a ‘stunning success’.

Question 2

What is the multiplier in Bolsa Familia.

Answer 2

1,87

Question 3

What is needed to get in?

Answer 3

Earn less than 42USD per person per month, let your children go to school, immunize your children, do medical checkups for moms and dads

Question 4

Who came up with direct cash transfer to the poor?

Answer 4

Milton Friedman

Question 5

How expensive is Bolsa Familia?

Answer 5

<0,5% of GDP. It’s one of the cheapest antipoverty programs around, ~30% cheaper than others.

Question 6

Results of Bolsa Familia?

Answer 6

Lifted ~36M people out of poverty. First three years it cut 15M people out of poverty already. Reduced inequality by a third. 99% of population vaccinated today.

Question 7

What is Busca Activa

Answer 7

An active search program for more people to enroll in Bolsa, launched by Roussef (brainchild of Lula).

Question 8

What is the Michael Bloomberg variation of Bolsa in NY?

Answer 8

Opportunity NYC, but his was heavily criticized, although it worked quite well. There is a new one called Family Reward 2.0.