A Slight Nudge on Bolsa Familia: a Proposal for the Use of Behavioral Tools in the Program

Objective: The Bolsa Familia Program (PBF) is an important public policy that made it possible to break the cycle of misery for millions of families. Once the program is consolidated, it is necessary to analyze the ways in which it can be improved, in order to increase compliance with the so-called conditionalities (such as school attendance and compliance with vaccination schedules). Thus, this research explores specific aspects of the PBF, analyzes its main conditionalities from the perspective of Behavioral Economics (BE) and investigates which measures could contribute to the improvement of the Program. Methodology: A bibliographic review about the PBF and the main assumptions of BE was made, detailing possible insights that could be used in the improvement of the Program. Results: In light of BE, this study proposes a simplification in the language used with the beneficiaries of the program in the warning letter that is sent in case of non-compliance with any conditionality. This study also proposes an impact evaluation to ascertain whether the suggested behavioral insights produced the expected effects. Practical contributions: This study aims to contribute to the improvement of the PBF as a public policy, to increase the rate of compliance with the conditionalities associated with the program. Academic contributions: In the academic field, this study contributes to the social policy literature, exploring the optimization and simplification of communication between the beneficiaries of public policy and the State. In addition, the article makes innovative contributions to the Brazilian literature on government communication.