Can a Conditional Cash Transfer Reduce Teen Fertility? The Case of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia

Publication date: Available online 2 November 2018Source: Journal of Health EconomicsAuthor(s): Zachary Olson, Rachel Gardner Clark, Sarah Anne ReynoldsAbstractIn 2008, Brazil's conditional cash transfer program expanded to cover a wider range of ages. Poor families are now given stipends for their children's school attendance up to age seventeen, whereas prior the maximum age was fifteen. Using a nationally representative household survey, we estimate the impact of this policy on teen fertility with a triple difference analysis on the fertility outcomes of treated cohorts vs. non-treated cohorts based on income eligibility, age eligibility, and timing of program implementation. We find a three percentage point drop in fertility among eligible teens within five years of program implementation. This offsets the difference in fertility between poor and non-poor teens. The impact is concentrated in urban areas, with no program effects found in rural areas. We are able to replicate these findings using National Birth Registry Data.
Source: Journal of Health Economics - Category: Health Management Source Type: research