The effects of Bolsa Família on human development: systematic review approach

Usually conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) are interpreted as passive policies dealing with income maintenance and needs fulfilment. However, recently some of the literature has suggested a more active role for them. The aim of this article is to investigate the inclusive role of human rights-based CCTs using the Bolsa Família (BF) policy as a case study. Specifically, I assess the effect of this programme on human development using a systematic review of results from natural, quasi-experimental, counterfactual and longitudinal analyses. The main findings suggest some positive effect of the BF on human development. However, the BF programme should be more integrated with the education and the health system to ameliorate the advancement of human rights. For example, when social workers visit recipient families they should enrol children in the education system. Also, healthcare teams should visit recipient families more frequently and provide healthcare advice as well as healthcare support to ameliorate the nutritional and health status of children.