This text argues that the criteria used to define Bolsa Família benefits and the criteria used to establish coverage targets are inconsistent. While individual concession criteria are that beneficiaries should be paid for two years if they do not suffer large upward income mobility, the...

In this text we address measurement, monitoring and cost issues relating to the eradication of extreme poverty in Brazil. We argue that, for the purpose of ending extreme poverty, income poverty is the relevant concept, and that an administrative extreme poverty line, decided upon politically,...

This text analyzes the evolution of the cognitive abilities of Brazilian youth as measured by Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa). Our results are quite positive. In spite of an increase of youth eligible for the PISA universe and, therefore, a reduction in selectivity,...

This text examines the present monetary transfer setup for children aged 15 or less in Brazil. This setup is today composed of Bolsa Família's variable benefit, the Salário Família, and the child deduction in our Personal Income Tax. We analyze the value of each of the above benefits, as well...

The effect of school inputs upon educational outcomes has been extensively studies in the literature but there are still no conclusions as to its impacts. This paper presents results that suggest a strong impact of inputs upon age-grade lag for Brazilian primary schools between 1998 and 2005. We...

Our objective is to analyze the gravity of panel attrition in the Brazilian Monthly Employment Survey (PME). There are three types of panel attrition: a) random, that does not produce any selection bias; b) function of observables, whose bias can be corrected through an appropriate re-weighing...