The central research finding of this article is that the standard policy feedback effects in the ... more The central research finding of this article is that the standard policy feedback effects in the literature cannot alone explain the outcomes of the Brazilian Bolsa Familia program/ Programa Bolsa Família (PBF). While conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have remained a resilient policy instrument in Brazil – newly elected officials did not dismantle, replace or wholesale transform PBF – our empirical research tells us that this resilience is due not only to policy feedbacks, but also to another mechanism. We suggest that previous explanations have not paid sufficient attention to the concept of policy capacity or to the role of the bureaucracy in defending PBF over time. We analyse the internal dynamics of Brazil’s PBF in changing political and economic environments. Our key explanatory factor is the impact of alternations of power. We suggest that PBF’s resilience to changing political and economic contexts is underpinned by its policy capacity.
COVID-19's political challenges in Latin America, 2021
Brazilian response to Covid-19: Populism, polarization and conflict Brazil has had, until October... more Brazilian response to Covid-19: Populism, polarization and conflict Brazil has had, until October 2, 2020, 144,966 deaths by Covid-19, ranking second in the world, only trailing the USA. It has been classified as one of the five countries in which its main political leader downplayed the disease and the pandemic (Meyer B. Pandemic populism: an analysis of populist leaders’ responses to Covid-19. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, London, 2020. [Google Scholar]). In fact, Jair Bolsonaro has been one of the most vocal critics of the World Health Organization recommendations and frequently defied them publicly, by disrespecting in actions and rhetoric social distancing and the use of masks. But Brazil is more complex than that, and subnational variation on response patterns has been varied (Fernandez et al. 2020). In fact, it has followed, to some extent, a growing divide in Brazilian politics between Bolsonaro supporters and critics. This seems to be the new axis of polarization ...
Barry Ames is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. L... more Barry Ames is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Lucio Renno is a doctoral candidate at the same institution. Francisco Rodrigues is Co-Director of AfroSondagem, a private research firm in Praia, Cape Verde.
The central research finding of this article is that the standard policy feedback effects in the ... more The central research finding of this article is that the standard policy feedback effects in the literature cannot alone explain the outcomes of the Brazilian Bolsa Familia program/ Programa Bolsa Família (PBF). While conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have remained a resilient policy instrument in Brazil – newly elected officials did not dismantle, replace or wholesale transform PBF – our empirical research tells us that this resilience is due not only to policy feedbacks, but also to another mechanism. We suggest that previous explanations have not paid sufficient attention to the concept of policy capacity or to the role of the bureaucracy in defending PBF over time. We analyse the internal dynamics of Brazil’s PBF in changing political and economic environments. Our key explanatory factor is the impact of alternations of power. We suggest that PBF’s resilience to changing political and economic contexts is underpinned by its policy capacity.
COVID-19's political challenges in Latin America, 2021
Brazilian response to Covid-19: Populism, polarization and conflict Brazil has had, until October... more Brazilian response to Covid-19: Populism, polarization and conflict Brazil has had, until October 2, 2020, 144,966 deaths by Covid-19, ranking second in the world, only trailing the USA. It has been classified as one of the five countries in which its main political leader downplayed the disease and the pandemic (Meyer B. Pandemic populism: an analysis of populist leaders’ responses to Covid-19. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, London, 2020. [Google Scholar]). In fact, Jair Bolsonaro has been one of the most vocal critics of the World Health Organization recommendations and frequently defied them publicly, by disrespecting in actions and rhetoric social distancing and the use of masks. But Brazil is more complex than that, and subnational variation on response patterns has been varied (Fernandez et al. 2020). In fact, it has followed, to some extent, a growing divide in Brazilian politics between Bolsonaro supporters and critics. This seems to be the new axis of polarization ...
Barry Ames is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. L... more Barry Ames is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Lucio Renno is a doctoral candidate at the same institution. Francisco Rodrigues is Co-Director of AfroSondagem, a private research firm in Praia, Cape Verde.
Legislativo Brasileiro em Perspectiva Comparada, 2010
O livro Legislativo brasileiro em perspectiva comparada, organizado pelos cientistas políticos Ma... more O livro Legislativo brasileiro em perspectiva comparada, organizado pelos cientistas políticos Magna Inácio (UFMG) e Lúcio Rennó (UnB), oferece ao leitor um painel das principais tendências dos estudos sobre o Poder Legislativo no Brasil e na América Latina. A obra foi lançada pela Editora UFMG.
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