The impact of the National School Feeding Program on public schools in Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

Purpose– This study evaluates the impact of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) on academic performance in public schools, focusing on Portuguese language and mathematics exams from the Permanent System for the Assessment of Basic Education of Cear� a (SPAECE) between 2008 and 2019. Design/methodology/approach– We employ the generalized propensity score (GPS) methodology combined with a dose-response function to assess the impact of the program on the average student performance in these subjects at the school level, considering all educational stages in which SPAECE is administered. Findings– Overall, the results indicate that larger transfers from PNAE to schools are, on average, associated with better academic outcomes. Furthermore, the marginal effects of additional transfers are positive but diminishing. Originality/value–InadditiontoestimatingPNAEtransfersattheindividualschoollevel,akeycontributionof this study is the application of the GPS methodology and dose-response function, which enables the identification of the differential impact of increased school meal funding on student performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is a novel result that enhances our understanding of both the importance and limitations of this type of resource transfer.