The role of Bolsa Familia in the labour/education problematic for children in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is a massive country in both size and population, and is considered an economic and political leader in Latin America. However, it suffers from many development issues faced by other developing countries around the globe; the state struggles to educate the entire population and it has not yet fully eradicated child labour. The specific problematic in this thesis, is the opportunity cost associated with child labour and education, and its relationship with conditional cash transfer programs. Child labour is thought to be an impediment of human development as it is often considered a means of continuing the cycle of poverty. It is likely that many children work to support themselves or their families. The focus of this thesis is to discuss the effects of the education conditionality imposed by Brazil’s conditional cash transfer program on child labour in the country. The research question of this thesis is, what is the trade-off between education and child labour in relation to Brazil’s conditional cash transfer program, Bolsa Familia? The main conclusion of this thesis is that the trade-off between school and work is not as black and white as originally assumed; education and child labour are for the most part not substitutes. Bolsa Familia has had a greater impact on increasing enrolment and retention than reducing child labour in Brazil, leading to the assumption that many children are likely combining both school and work. Recipient children are more likely to miss school to help with domestic activities, but non-recipient children are more likely to miss school to work or look for work.