Principal investigator: Eduarda Miller de Figueiredo
Article title: IMPACT OF THE BOLSA FAMILIA PROGRAM ON FOOD AVAILABILITY OF LOW-INCOME BRAZILIAN FAMILIES: A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Article authors: Ana Paula Bortoletto Martins and Carlos Augusto Monteiro
Location of the intervention: Brazil
Sample size: 11.282 households
Main theme: Economic Policy and Governance
Type of Intervention: income transfer
Primary variable of interest: Food expenditure
Evaluation method: Others – Almost experimental
Policy Problem
Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTPs) aim to combat poverty and social inequality, where income transfers are conditional upon a series of rules encompassing the areas of health, education, and social services.
This type of program was created in the 90s, but its expansion only occurred in 2001 with the "School Grant," "Food Grant," "Gas Subsidy," and "Food Card" programs. In 2003, these programs were unified into the Bolsa Família Program (PBF), which, according to the authors, has three focuses:
i) income transfer to promote immediate poverty alleviation;
ii) conditionalities that reinforce access to basic social rights in education, health and social assistance;
iii) complementary programs aimed at developing families so that they are able to overcome vulnerability.”
In 2009, families eligible to receive the Bolsa Família program had to have a per capita income of less than R$ 70,00, regardless of family composition, or a per capita income of less than R$ 140,00 for families with children, adolescents, pregnant women, or breastfeeding women. Benefits ranged from R$ 68,00 to R$ 200,00 per family, and in 2012, the program benefited all families living in poverty as estimated by the 2010 Brazilian Demographic Census.
Assessment Context
A study of the impact of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) on food expenditure in rural Northeast Brazil in 2005 demonstrates an increase in annual food spending among beneficiary families. Other studies have also shown this association, but pointed to a higher intake of biscuits, sweets, and soft drinks among beneficiary children, even with the lack of representativeness in the sample, as the authors argue.
Assessments of the Bolsa Família program do not consider the consumption of industrially processed foods, even though this type of food has significant impacts on the population's health, such as obesity and other chronic diseases. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Bolsa Família program on food purchases by low-income families in Brazil, using an appropriate methodological design for selecting the control group and thus obtaining robust results on causal effects.
Policy Details
The study analyzed family purchases of food items for household consumption over seven consecutive days, using records kept by the family or by IBGE interviewers. Food purchased outside the home was not recorded, but the Household Budget Survey also recorded information on non-monetary food acquisition, such as exchange, donation, or self-production. Learn more about it. Lightning Roulette Bet365 , a live roulette game developed by Evolution Gaming.
The total quantities of each food item were converted into energy using the Brazilian Food Composition Table and the... USDA Food Composition TableThus, the total daily per capita energy was the sum of the calories in each food item, divided by the number of residents, which was then divided by the seven days of the survey. The items were grouped according to the industrial processing of the foods:
| Group 1 | Food in natura or minimally processed | Natural foods with only inedible parts removed and no dependence on artificial substances. | Rice, beans, cassava flour, wheat flour, pasta, meat, milk, eggs, fish, fruits, vegetables, roots, tubers, and others. |
| Group 2 | Processed culinary ingredients | Substances obtained directly from group 1 – for preparing, seasoning and cooking. | Sugar, salt, vegetable oil, animal fat. |
| Group 3 | Processed food products | Foods with added substances. | Canned or bottled vegetables, fruits and vegetables, salted, cured or smoked meat, canned fish, fruits in syrup. |
| Group 4 | Ultra-processed food and beverage products | Industrial formulations with 5 or more ingredients and substances, capable of replacing foods from groups 1 and 2. | Carbonated drinks, sweet or savory snacks, ice cream, chocolates, margarines and spreads, biscuits, breakfast cereals, cocoa drinks, ready to heat. |
To observe the program's impact on food purchases, the average values between beneficiary and non-beneficiary groups were compared using two indicators: weekly expenditure (R$) and daily energy availability (kcal).
Assessment Method
In 2008 and 2009, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) conducted the Family Budget Survey, and its database was used in this study. Families considered low-income were selected, meaning those with a monthly per capita income of less than R$ 210,00. This value was chosen because the Bolsa Família cutoff point is R$ 140,00 per capita income; therefore, 50% of this value corresponds to R$ 70,00. Thus, the sum of these values totals the per capita income used as the cutoff point to select families for the survey, compensating for inaccuracies in income information. In the individual income records of the budget survey, families where at least one individual declared receiving some amount from Bolsa Família during the 12 months prior to data collection were identified as beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF). In this way, 11.282 households were eligible, of which 48,5% are beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program.
Since households were not initially randomized into groups that would and would not receive the PBF income transfer, it can be said that the design of this research was a quasi-experimental study. However, the groups of families were matched using propensity scores for sociodemographic and economic characteristics that could influence food availability in families, thus reducing possible biases in the estimation. The characteristics used are: monthly per capita income, proportion of food expenditure outside the home, education level of the head of household, number of people in the family, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, proportion of households with piped water, and distribution of individuals by gender and age group. For beneficiary families, the monthly per capita value of the benefit and its share of total per capita income were calculated.
Households were grouped into blocks of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) using propensity score matching. This resulted in 117 pairs of beneficiary and non-beneficiary families, all with similar propensity scores. Beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program received an average of R$ 20,20 per capita per month. These families participating in the program have lower monthly per capita income, lower educational levels, lower spending on food outside the home, and a higher proportion of young people. Geographically, beneficiary families are more prevalent in the Northeast region, while non-beneficiary families are located in the Southeast, South, and Midwest. The North region has a similar proportion of beneficiary and non-beneficiary families. Furthermore, the majority of PBF families are located in rural areas of Brazil.
Main results
With the Bolsa Família program, the total weekly per capita expenditure on food was around 6% higher in beneficiary families. When observing this expenditure among the groups, it was noted that families participating in the program had a 7,7% higher expenditure on food. in natura or minimally processed (group 1) families spent more than non-participating families, while regarding culinary ingredients (group 2), the expenditure was 18% higher for beneficiary families. In groups 3 and 4 there was no difference in expenses. Thus, it is demonstrated that participation in the PBF does not influence the purchase of processed or ultra-processed foods.
Regarding the program's impact on energy availability, beneficiaries showed 115,5 kcal more in available food than non-beneficiaries, with the majority of purchases being from group 1 foods. This result, which expresses a greater availability of calories, is interesting, since this is an index that, in low-income families, is below the national average (1.611 kcal).
Lessons in Public Policy
Research shows that the conditional cash transfer program for low-income families, Bolsa Família, contributed to higher spending on food, the majority of which is food. in natura or minimally processed and culinary ingredients. But the subtle effects of the Bolsa Família program also indicate that simply increasing income is not enough to promote substantial improvements in diet, and that public policies are needed to encourage the consumption of healthy foods.
Reference
MARTINS, Ana Paula Bortoletto; MONTEIRO, Carlos Augusto. Impact of the Bolsa Família program on food availability of low-income Brazilian families: a quasi experimental study. BMC Public Health, vol. 16, no. 1, p. 827, 2016.
