Publication: AuxĂlio Emergencial - Lessons from the Brazilian experience responding to COVID-19: Summary Note
Loading...
Files in English
426 downloads
136 downloads
211 downloads
Date
2021
ISSN
Published
2021
Editor(s)
Abstract
The AuxĂlio Emergencial (AE) was one of the most agile, robust, and extensive social protection programs implemented by developing countries. Having reached up to 55.6 percent of the population, considering both direct and indirect beneficiaries, the program has shown impacts in improving the average income and reducing the prevalence of poverty and inequality (as measured by the Gini index1 ), compared to immediate pre-pandemic levels. The success of the program can be attributed both to its robustness and to its complex architecture, marked by innovations which should be analyzed by their integration potential in relation to regular social protection policies and measures to increase adaptation to the social protection system, both in Brazil and in other countries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Lara De Arruda, Pedro; Lazarotto de Andrade, Marina; FalcĂŁo, Tiago; Teixeira Barbosa, Diana; Morgandi, Matteo. 2021. AuxĂlio Emergencial - Lessons from the Brazilian experience responding to COVID-19: Summary Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37254 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Challenges and Potentialities for Implementing Social Protection Responses to Emergency Through Decentralized Administration(World Bank, Brasilia, 2022-01)With the advent of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Brazil has come out with one of the fastest and most generous social protection responses globally. Auxilio Emergencial (AE’s) operation is in contrast to that of regular social protection programs due to its highly centralized setup with limited formal involvement of subnational governments. Therefore, this analysis aims at understanding some core reasons why this happened and what were the main implications of this centralized operation to the program. The text also describes measures that were enacted to mitigate challenges due to the exclusion of subnational governments from the operation of AE and discusses the extent to which these can integrate traditional decentralization mechanisms of regular programs in the future and further improve the sectoral case management capacity at large. This paper is structured in seven chapters. Chapter one is introduction, chapter two presents a conceptual framework describing main forms of decentralization and discussing their adequacy to different contexts and traditional functions of the social protection sector. Chapter three presents an overview of AE highlighting its centralized setup and already discussing some main reasons why traditional decentralization mechanisms, such as the unified social assistance system (SUAS), were not formal members of the program. Chapter four discusses legacies of SUAS historical support to social protection in Brazil and how these have contributed to AE even if the system was not formally involved in the program. Chapter five describes some main challenges faced by AE and that can arguably have been mitigated had SUAS and or other subnational governments been part of its formal operation. Chapter six considers how SUAS and decentralized forms of social protection were nevertheless relevant as complementary measures to that provided by AE. Finally, chapter seven concludes by summarizing some core lessons learned for engaging decentralized mechanisms in emergency responses in the future.Publication The Payment System Used by Auxilio Emergencial(World Bank, Brasilia, 2021-12)The auxilio emergencial (AE) was the main social policy in response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Brazil, and one of the most vigorous in the world, both in terms of its generosity, speed, and coverage, as well as because of the program’s auspicious design. The AE payment system combined Caixa’s historical experience, responsible for operating the payment of social transfers such as Bolsa Familia, with innovative solutions. These allowed the use of a 100 percent digital means of payment and with an incentive to save, which contributed to the largest collection of savings in the Brazilian historical series. AE utilized three entry channels: (a) automatic selection of Programa Bolsa FamĂlia (PBF) beneficiaries who will be eligible to receive more significant benefits through the AE program; (b) the automatic selection of people registered in the largest administrative registry of Brazilian social programs but who were not beneficiaries of the PBF; (c) passive selection based on requests submitted through the app developed by CAIXA for this purpose, which led to the creation of a new temporary registry (the ExtraCad). The AE was created to be a temporary program, with an expected duration of only three months. However, the benefit was reissued in 3 versions (each with its legal diploma) which share the same operational structure, although they maintain significant differences in their rules and procedures.Publication Lessons from Hospitals’ Experiences in Responding to COVID-19(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-11-05)Hospitals have faced diverse and serious challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy note attempts to provide a review of hospital experiences and response during this period, together with lessons to support hospitals in preparing and responding to future pandemics. The note highlights the importance of a holistic and comprehensive approach to health care delivery rather than a simple improvement of health care capacity in responding to pandemics and disease outbreaks. During an outbreak or pandemic there is likely to be a need for a country to rapidly expand the capacity for diagnostic testing by expediting its approval process for the availability and use of appropriate test kits. Also, introducing innovative testing venues such as drive-throughs and walk-throughs has significantly helped access and increased the number of tests that can be done on a daily basis. Countries can respond to an increased patient load by increasing hospitals’ surge capacity for mass critical care by mobilizing trained medical teams to intensive care units, and they can improve intensive care capacity by using intermediate care wards, postsurgical recovery rooms, operating theaters, and areas of intervention. Countries can transform public venues such as exhibition centers and residential facilities (such as dormitories for athletes) into health care facilities, where patients with mild to moderate infection can be isolated from their homes while being provided with medical care, disease monitoring, food, shelter, and social activities. Countries need to relax regulatory guidelines, expand reimbursement of costs, and increase access to advancing technology such as telehealth and virtual care to address public health needs and improve care efficiency during the pandemic.Publication Managing the Employment Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-07)This note discusses policy options for managing the employment impacts of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis aimed at relief and restructuring. The note pays attention to the labor market and institutional context of most low and middle-income countries where informality is large and where existing institutions often lack mechanisms to effectively reach businesses and workers in the informal economy. The note covers complementary policies aimed, in the relief phase, at: 1) Helping businesses survive and retain workers; 2) providing protection for those who do lose their jobs and see their livelihoods significantly affected; and 3) facilitating alternative employment and employability support for those who are out of work (collectively known as active labor market programs, ALMP). The note further differentiates between these relief responses and the restructuring response when countries start to reopen for businesses and policies need to aim to support firms' and workers' transition to a "new normal", hopefully a "better normal" that supports a resilient recovery.Publication Brazil - The Contrato Verde Amarelo Wage Subsidy(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05)In November 2019, the Brazilian government introduced, as part of an employment stimulus package, the Contrato Verde Amarelo (CVA), a wage subsidy program for young first-time employees entering in contracts of up to 1.5 minimum wages. Despite CVA did not pass the final senate vote and, consequently, lost its validity, the relevance of this measure remains in light of Brazil’s high labor costs and unemployment, and the dramatic impact that COVID-19 epidemic will leave in its labor market. This note analyzes the design, relevance and potential impacts of the CVA, as it was introduced in 2019, and recommendations for improvements based on international experience. In particular, as government will consider a revised version to speed up recovery of the labor market following COVID-19 epidemic, these recommendations will be useful in the drafting of an improved proposal.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.