Conditional Cash Transfer programs (CCTs) have recently emerged as a central component of social policy across Latin America. The rationale of CCT programmes is to address short term poverty through monthly cash payments, and long term poverty by attaching conditions to mandatory school attendance and healthcare use. Most countries in Latin America have some kind of CCT programme (Cruz and Zigelhofer: 2014). Brazil’s CCT, Bolsa Familia (Family Allowance) is the largest CCT programme in the world. Today, Bolsa Familia covers 13 million households, with about 5 people in each household. This equates to about 25% of the population of Brazil (Hall: 2006). The programme is targeted for those whose income levels fall under the categories of poverty, or extreme poverty in Brazil, defined as those whose income falls under $2.25 USD per day (World Bank: ). The goal is to promote long term ‘human capital accumulation’ (). Since its implementation in 2003, Bolsa Familia has produced …show more content…
The implementation of Bolsa Familia brought an overall reduction in income inequality as a result of the base transfer, and a significant increase in school enrolments and health checks among CCT beneficiaries. CCTs appeal to policy makers and governments as they provide a direct route to human capital accumulation through the use of incentives. Furthermore, Brazil’s Bolsa Familia has done well in targeting the poorest region, the Northeast (Cruz and Ziegelhofer: 2014). To aid donors and policy makers hey are an efficient and well-targeted means of social expenditure. The political economy of conditionality makes beneficiaries responsible for their own development – cash transfers are conditioned on participation which requires the adjustment of beneficiaries behaviour and ideas about schooling and healthcare (Bastalgi:
The IPPS or the inpatient prospective payment system refers to a system of payment which includes the diagnosis-related groups’ cases as acute care hospital inpatients. This system is based on resources which are utilized when treating Medicare recipients belonging to these groups. Each diagnosis-related group (DRG) comprise of a payment weight. The IPPS serves an integral role when it comes to deciding the overall hospital costs of all the devices used to treat the patient in within a specific inpatient stay.
In the 1500s Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on Brazil, previously a inhabited by tribal nations, and claimed the land in the name of Portugal. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until September 7, 1822 when it declared its independence becoming the Empire of Brazil making the nation a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. In early 1964, a Military junta took control of the nation until it fell in 1985 further changing the structure of the nation, and finally in 1988 a formal constitution was created enacting 26 states encompassing its boarders. Throughout the history of Brazil, the nation was never able to fully immerse itself in the international market and expand its economy, until today. Latin America has not had the best of luck when it comes to economic development and many nations in Latin America have similar issues when it comes to economic and societal development, and many of these issues are cause by the same things. For example, before the military coup in 1964 Brazil was in massive amounts of debt to international partners, however, during the military rule the payment of this debt was halted so the trust and economic backing of countries stopped with the payments. Many plans have been enacted after the fall of the military control to reverse the economic downfall that occurred in the country and continent in the 20th century and especially in the 1980s, the lost decade. In Brazil alone, there have been at least seven economic plans to reverse the economic hardships of the country, from the Cruzado Plan to the Real Plan, none seemed to work. However, in the past decade the Brazilian economy has seen an amazing increase and the condition of life of the people in the nation has increased with it. The quest...
She provides captivating counter perspectives that add hope to what is understood about urban poverty in Latin America. She writes using compassion and personal stories to portray larger topics substantiated with statistical analysis. Perlman’s research has provided proof of an overall improvement in living standards and a surprising increase of upward mobility, especially among families that have fewer children. However, not all of her subjects make their way out of poverty. She discovers many innovative social interventions (by community organizers, nongovernmental organizations, and international agencies) that, if replicated, could have widespread benefits. Perlman worries that the emerging democracies of Latin America have so far failed to fully incorporate their expanding urban populations and produce enough good jobs. But their uplifting reportage from the edge provides solid ground for reasoned optimism.
De Lourdes Rollemberg Mollo, Maria and Alfredo Saad-Filho. "Neoliberal Economic Policies in Brazil (1994 – 2005): Cardoso, Lula and the Need for a Democratic Alternative." New Political Economy March 2006: 99-123.
By calculating data identifying inequalities alongside the Ministry of Health in random regions throughout Brazil, in 2012, Barufi, Haddad, and Paez, found numerous problems: Previous health care expansion was ineffective due to its inaccessibility, few socioeconomic improvements have restricted many impoverished people in Brazil to obtain any social mobility, and lastly without the proper infrastructure, there is little that can be done to reduce the infant mortality rate (p. 6-8). In relation, Narayan Sastry found through her studies of studying urban and rural child infant mortality in 1997 that, those community characteristics have a strong impact but do not directly have an effect Infant mortality in Brazil (p. 999-1001). In simpler terms, there are SDH that are not examined that have greater impacts but are not implemented due to its lack of studying. Though her numbers did not openly infer this, if a community has such an important impact, imagine what preventative care specified to each community could do to influence the IMR for those regions. As presented, infant mortality is clearly a problem but is often hard to precisely identity the greatest contributing factor. In the next section, the causes and effects of infant mortality will be
The issue at hand is whether or not Congress had the authority under the Constitution to enact the challenged provisions. The two sides in this case are: the government arguing against the states, individuals and NFIB. The latter group believing that Congress does not have the power to enact these provisions. The plaintiffs argued that the individual mandate exceeded Congress powers under Article I of the Constitution and that the Medicaid expansion exceed Congress’s authority under the Spending Clause. In regards to the individual mandate, Congress chose to describe the shared responsibility payment imposed on those who do not forgo health insurance as a penalty rather than a tax. Although Congress does not label it as such, the plaintiffs
I would agree that the welfare system is a “broken system”, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that the welfare system needs to be “wiped out” before it can be improved. The welfare system is a large system and within that large system there are parts of the system that works well and there are parts that need additions and changes made to be more effective system with assisting individuals to become self-sufficient. Additionally, the welfare system needs to undergo change to become a more efficient system.
The Council of Economic Advisors. (2014). The War on Poverty 50 Years Later: A Progress
Pinheiro P. S., 2002, The Paradox of Democracy in Brazil vol. III, issue 1, University of Sao Paulo
Brazil’s overall culture is one that celebrates dance, music, and diversity. The nation is notorious for being the mother of the Samba, a traditional dance that is often affiliated with all types of Brazilian music and celebration. The key aspect to Brazilian culture, at least at the level of the general population, lies in community and family ties. This is seen in particular in the lives of those living in the favellas, Brazil’s famous poorer areas often referred to as “slums” where large family households are cherished but also unavoidable due to economic circumstances. We learn from Britannica that “this traditional system of kinship ties depends on a certain degree of wealth and stability for its preservation, and it is no longer as strong as it once was, given the increased mobility and urbanization of the Brazilian people” (Momsen).
In 1958, Oscar Lewis began to research the subject of poverty, the results of which provided the foundation for his theory “The Culture of Poverty.” Lewis’ research revealed that those living in poverty displayed an ongoing pattern which was passed on through generations and therefore, their social trajectory was predictable. Data was collected from families in Mexico and Puerto Rico and Lewis (1966) documented the observations made on aspect of these groups of families, including “residence and employment history of each adult, family relations; income and expenditure; complete inventory of household and personal possessio...
In the governments view the policy was remarkable, but little do they know how many families the law has damaged. Decreasing the number of babies being born impacts the traditional family structure. “On the township roads, there are slogans written on flamboyant red banners, telling peop...
The changes of educational policies in Brazil can be examined by looking at the many different parties that have taken over Brazil throughout the years. During the time of the Old Republic, there was a strong relationship of clientelism and agrarian oligarchies. The result of this oligarchy created diverse educational policies that only benefited the elite. However, at the end of the Old Republic and beginning of the Vargas era, Vargas was mainly interested in industrialization and modernization, with education falling behind his true interests. After the end of the Vargas era and the beginning of the Fourth Republic, there was a strong increase of educational backwardness. Under the leadership of president Jucelino Kubitscheck, Brazil’s primary funding went towards energy, transportation, industry, and education, with education only receiving around 3% of total investments. Briefly in 1964, Brazil was apart of a military dictatorship. During this time, education was seen as an important part of the development program, however, there was no funding towards secondary education. This lack of funding contributed to the division among social classes. The lack of funding towards secondary education only affected those of lower income while the rich continued to progress in their education, receiving higher-paying jobs. It is evident that throughout the years the best interests of citizens of Brazil have not been taken to heart, with those in power taking advantage of average
... of revenue collection of the machinery of redistribution, important though these are. An optimal financing mix should do three jobs well: (i) generate the resources needed to establish and strengthen appropriate social protection systems; (ii) ensure that the incentives generated by the financing modalities reduce child poverty and child vulnerability; and (iii) secure legitimacy for social protection institutions and policies. Section three examines the main issues involved in financing social protection in low income countries, beginning with a discussion of trends in sub-Saharan Africa, and the issues raised by the current global crisis; followed by a discussion of alternative policy strategies adopted in three Latin American countries: the use of natural resources in Bolivia; budgetary surplus policies in Chile, and borrowing in Mexico. Section four concludes.
In many countries with high levels of poverty, universal healthcare is a myth and quality healthcare is often a reserve for the financially endowed. Because of this, the poor are forced to contend with below par healthcare services, which are still comparatively expensive. The inability to access regular and balanced meals often results in poor health among individuals in this populace, with chronic illnesses being very common (Hickey & du Toit, 2013). Unfortunately, the same can be said of education. Many children in poverty stricken areas often drop out of school at early ages to seek employment. This is often driven by the need for every member of the household to contribute towards family expenses (Hatcher, 2016; Yoshikawa, Aber, & Beardslee, 2012). As a result, these children do not enjoy the benefits of proper education, which often results in many of these children still living within the same poverty brackets as their