The Benefit Formula for Brazils Bolsa Familia Program

2 The Benefit Formula for Brazil s Bolsa Familia Program 

Bolsa Familia provides two types of benefits a base benefit provided to all families in extreme poverty, regardless of their demographic composition, and a variable benefit that depends on family composition and income. For both extremely poor and moderately poor families, this variable benefit is set according to the number of children in the family (capped at three) and/or whether the mother is pregnant or breastfeeding. 

As the table shows, income transfers range from R 15 to R 95 (US 7 to US 45) per family per month. The average value of benefits paid during January-May 2006 was about R 62 (US 30). 

Our preference for comparing generosity is the ratio of benefits to the total consumption of beneficiary households. This measure can be estimated using household surveys that collect information on household consumption and the value of safety net benefits received during a certain period. This measure is preferable, as it takes into account many of the complexities of the provision of safety net benefits and transforms them into a single index comparable across households and countries benefits are implicitly a regated at the household level, the unit where they are shared and used to finance consumption.  

Poverty level pregnant or breastfeeding women benefit Benefit 

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