The impact of conditional cash transfers on interhousehold transfer behavior among the elderly in Brazil

Vitor F Miranda, University of Pennsylvania
Eduardo L.G. Rios-Neto, CEDEPLAR, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

This study examines whether an exogenous increase in the income of the poor elderly in Brazil, due to changes in the rules of a conditional cash transfer program, led to a decrease in inter-household transfers received by this population subgroup. To test this hypothesis, we use nationally representative data from periods before and after two major reductions in the age of eligibility to the program. We then estimate the impact of the program using a difference-in-difference approach. We find a decrease both in the probability of receiving interhousehold transfers and in the magnitude of transfers received by the age groups that became eligible after the change in the rules. We conclude that public income transfers may reduce the amount of financial resources Brazilian families allocate to support their old relatives.