Arguments against means-tested cash transfers for the poor based upon labor supply appear both in the specialized literature and in the media. It is possible to make a microeconomic argument pointing to a reduction in labor supply on the part of beneficiaries of a targeted cash transfer. This...

This paper presents a simplified methodology for estimating quarterly figures for both the Brazilian government transfers and net aggregate tax burden in the 1995-2007 years. It also describes the main stylized facts observed in the data in this period, calling attention to the fact that...