Income and bargaining effects on education and health in Brazil

This study examines the impacts of the 1991 reform of Brazil's rural pension system on schooling and health indicators. We conclude that the reform had significant positive effects on schooling, especially on literacy for girls co-residing with a male pensioner. We were unable to find similar results for children living with a female pensioner. We further investigated whether these results were driven by bargaining power differences within households; our findings suggest that this explanation is plausible.