Conditional Cash Transfer Programs have been widely used throughout less developed countries to fight poverty and foster socioeconomic development. In Women, Gender and Conditional Cash Transfers, a multidisciplinary group of feminist scholars use survey data analysis, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic and archival research to explore the extent to which Bolsa Familia in Brazil contributes to women ́s autonomy and improves gender relations. Comprised of nine chapters, written by authors from different regions of Brazil, this book captures perspectives from across Brazil to explain these regional social inequalities and provide historical, and up-to-date, insights of this program from a feminist perspective. The authors are able to move beyond conventional feminist knowledge on CCTs, women and gender relations, through considering questions of gender raised in the specialized literature related to Bolsa Familia, and by addressing concerns of intersectional categories such as race, ethnicity, age and geographic location, Women, Gender and Conditional Cash Transfers will be of great interest not only to scholars of Latin American politics, but also to students of development policy, public policy and gender.

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs have been widely used throughout less developed countries to fight poverty and foster socioeconomic development. In Women, Gender and Conditional Cash Transfers, a multidisciplinary group of feminist scholars use survey data analysis, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic and archival research to explore the extent to which Bolsa Familia in Brazil contributes to women ́s autonomy and improves gender relations. Comprised of nine chapters, written by authors from different regions of Brazil, this book captures perspectives from across Brazil to explain these regional social inequalities and provide historical, and up-to-date, insights of this program from a feminist perspective. The authors are able to move beyond conventional feminist knowledge on CCTs, women and gender relations, through considering questions of gender raised in the specialized literature related to Bolsa Familia, and by addressing concerns of intersectional categories such as race, ethnicity, age and geographic location, Women, Gender and Conditional Cash Transfers will be of great interest not only to scholars of Latin American politics, but also to students of development policy, public policy and gender.

Unjust Conditions follows the lives and labors of poor mothers in rural Peru, richly documenting the ordeals they face to participate in mainstream poverty alleviation programs. Championed by behavioral economists and the World Bank, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are praised as efficient mechanisms for changing poor people's behavior. While rooted in good intentions and dripping with the rhetoric of social inclusion, CCT programs' successes ring hollow, based solely on metrics for children's attendance at school and health appointments. Looking beyond these statistics reveals a host of hidden costs for the mothers who meet the conditions. With a poignant voice and keen focus on ethnographic research, Tara Patricia Cookson turns the reader's gaze to women's care work in landscapes of grossly inadequate state investment, cleverly drawing out the tensions between social inclusion and conditionality. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Unjust Conditions follows the lives and labors of poor mothers in rural Peru, richly documenting the ordeals they face to participate in mainstream poverty alleviation programs. Championed by behavioral economists and the World Bank, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are praised as efficient mechanisms for changing poor people's behavior. While rooted in good intentions and dripping with the rhetoric of social inclusion, CCT programs' successes ring hollow, based solely on metrics for children’s attendance at school and health appointments. Looking beyond these statistics reveals a host of hidden costs for the mothers who meet the conditions. With a poignant voice and keen focus on ethnographic research, Tara Patricia Cookson turns the reader’s gaze to women’s care work in landscapes of grossly inadequate state investment, cleverly drawing out the tensions between social inclusion and conditionality.

Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs)—cash grants to poor families that are conditional on their participation in education, health, and nutrition services—have become a vital part of poverty reduction strategies in many countries, particularly in Latin America. In Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America, the contributors analyze and synthesize evidence from case studies of CCTs in Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The studies examine many aspects of CCTs, including the trends in development and political economy that fostered interest in them; their costs; their impacts on education, health, nutrition, and food consumption; and how CCT programs affect social relations shaped by gender, culture, and community. Throughout, the authors identify the strengths and weaknesses of CCTs and offer guidelines to those who design them.