The Impact of Bolsa Família on Women’s Decision-Making Power

Abstract

Conditional cash transfer programs that transfer resources to women have considerable scope to increase women’s decision-making power. Yet evidence of this effect is limited. We provide the first direct quantitative evidence of a CCT’s impact on women’s decision making, showing heterogeneity based on household characteristics. We find that Brazil’s Bolsa Família program significantly increases women’s decision-making power regarding contraception. For women in urban areas and for women less educated than their spouses, we find additional significant increases in women’s decision-making power regarding children’s school attendance, health expenses, and clothing; women’s own labor supply and clothing; and household durable goods purchases.

Keywords: Brazil, Bolsa Familia, women, conditional cash transfers

JEL Classification: D10, H53, I38, O1, O54