Perspectives of Social Life and Welfare in Brazil: A Polanyian Approach to Bolsa Familia
José Ricardo Barbosa Gonçalves, Maria Alejandra Caporale Madi

Abstract
Over the last decades, the outcomes of the Brazilian global economic and financial integration revealed deep tensions emanating from the market zone -deflationary pressures on aggregate demand and income distribution challenges. As a result, the social tensions have been extended to the political sphere and shaped changes in social policies. Considering the new institutional forces, this paper proposes a Polanyian approach to the direct cash transfer program Bolsa Família in order to identify some mechanisms of “self-protection” of the Brazilian society that could affect the perspectives of social life and welfare.

Full Text: PDF