The impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program on school attendance, age-grade discrepancy, and child labor, 2010

This paper analyzes the impact of the educational conditions of Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program on the school enrollment, age-grade discrepancy, and labor of children benefiting from the program. The main hypotheses of this paper is that a child who lives in a household that receives the benefit has higher chances of being in school, lower chances to have age-grade discrepancy, and lower chances of working. Data used are from the 2010 Brazilian Demographic Census. Logistical models were estimated for each dependent variable (school enrollment, age-grade discrepancy, and child labor) and for three household income thresholds. Independent variables account for characteristics related to the household, mother, child, and whether the household was receiving Bolsa Família. The income thresholds are a maximum household per capita income of 70 Brazilian Reais, 140 Brazilian Reais (the official maximum value for eligibility into the Bolsa Família in 2010), and 280 Brazilian Reais. Models were also estimated separated by the rural and urban areas in the official income threshold. Results follow initial hypotheses of higher chances of school enrollment and lower chances of age-grade discrepancy among children who receive Bolsa Família. However, models also suggest higher chances of child labor among beneficiaries of the program.