The impact of cash transfer participation on unhealthy consumption in Brazil

Fernanda Araujo Maciel; Diogo Duarte

doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2022.100087

The impact of cash transfer participation on unhealthy consumption in Brazil

Health Policy Open. 2022 Dec 6:4:100087. doi: 10.1016/j.hpopen.2022.100087. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Fernanda Araujo Maciel¹, Diogo Duarte²

Affiliations

¹ California State University, Sacramento, College of Business, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA.
² Florida International University, College of Business, 11200 S.W. 8th St., 236, Miami, FL 33199, USA.

Abstract

We assess the impact of the Brazilian government's conditional cash transfer program Bolsa Família on unhealthy consumption by households, proxied by expenses with ultra-processed food, alcohol, and tobacco products. Using machine learning techniques to improve the propensity score estimation, we analyze the intensive and extensive margin effects of participating in the program on the household purchase of unhealthy products. Our results reveal that program participants spend more on food in general, but not necessarily more on unhealthy options. While we find evidence that participants increase their probability of spending more on food away from home, they do not significantly alter their expenditures on packaged food, alcohol, or tobacco products.

Keywords: Conditional cash transfer program; Propensity score matching estimation; Unhealthy consumption.