| Hello, *|NOME|* A 2018 OECD study (link here) estimated that a descendant of the poorest Brazilian 10% family would take, on average, 9 generations to reach the country's average income. In this study, Brazil was the second worst among 30 countries, contrasting with the average of OECD members included in the survey, which was 4 to 5 generations. Brazilian social mobility is very heterogeneous in several dimensions, but especially heterogeneous when the territory is considered. Specific characteristics of the municipalities explain 57% of the variations in intergenerational mobility (article here). This indicates that local policies can make a difference, which should be considered in the plans of recently elected or re-elected municipal governments. In this sense, it is essential that municipal managers rely on successful public policy experiences to present programs with the potential to generate greater social impact. Focusing on this opportunity, we bring here some examples of public policies that can be implemented by municipalities that can influence social mobility at each stage of the lives of their citizens. The public manager, whether mayor, secretary, councilor and their advisors, can find the Impact Platform (here) on the IMDS website. It brings examples that will be mentioned here, and many others. The platform gathers and documents, in an accessible way, the impact assessments of initiatives that promote social mobility, and brings experiences from Brazil and the world. From pregnancy to the first months of a child's life, the municipality plays a fundamental role in the operationalization of Primary Care for maternal and child health. The expansion of prenatal and postpartum coverage can have important consequences for children's own survival. In Brazil, the territorial expansion of the Family Health Program has expanded access to Primary Care and adequate prenatal care, reducing the mortality rate of children up to 1 year of age by 36%. In Chile, the "Chile Crece Contigo" program integrates several care services for pregnant women and children. This includes expanding coverage, increasing the minimum length of prenatal visits, nutritional supplementation and social assistance services for vulnerable families, thus reducing fetal mortality by 16%. Similarly, in Brazil, the "Mãe Curitibana Vale a Vida" program focused on equipping basic health units and integrating care into 3 components of primary care: family planning, prenatal care, childbirth and postpartum care, and child health. In early childhood, literacy and early childhood education is the responsibility of the municipality and can play a fundamental role in the development of the child and in his future income. Experiences such as the "Perry Preschool" in the United States show how much interventions aimed at intellectual development at this stage have long-term effects. By providing 3-year-olds with daily access to quality early childhood education centers with structured curriculum and weekly home visits for 2 years, the program had effects such as a 33 percent increase in the likelihood that girls would have a job by age 27 and a 40 percent increase in the likelihood that a boy would have a job by age 40. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, access to daycare centers for vulnerable families in 2007 had a positive impact up to four and a half years later on the weight and height of the children covered. Many Brazilian children do not learn to read and write at the right age and are doomed to have learning disabilities in subsequent years. The "Literate Child" report showed that, in 2023, only 56% of students in the 2nd grade were literate. A positive highlight in Brazil was the state of Ceará, which taught 85% of children to read and write. This result is a consequence of the success of the Literacy at the Right Age Program (PAIC), which included specific didactic material, training for teachers in literacy and didactic practices, evaluation mechanisms and financial incentives. This program was strongly inspired by the experience of a city hall: Sobral, which carried out an educational reform centered on literacy. As for youth, the role of the municipality is more important in productive inclusion, since secondary education is the responsibility of the states. In 2023, 24% of young people between 18 and 24 years of age were neither working nor studying. A municipality can, for example, offer professional courses in careers demanded by the market. In New York (USA), "Per Scholas" offered courses focused on skills specific to IT careers and other important skills for the working world, increasing participants' annual income from 26% to 31% two years after the course. In Brazil, SENAC and Porto Digital offered IT training courses in Recife (PE) to train labor for the local technological hub. Another way to influence productive inclusion is by expanding access to city day care centers, increasing the supply of work for women in the family. Such effects were found in the expansion of access to daycare centers in Rio de Janeiro.
Municipalities play a key role in promoting social mobility. By investing in maternal and child health, quality early childhood education, literacy at the right age, and productive inclusion of young people, for example, city halls can offer a more promising future for the next generations. It is essential, therefore, that municipal managers rely on grounded and evidence-based initiatives so that they can implement effective policies that promote equal opportunities and social mobility. See you in the next "IMDS Letter"! Paulo Tafner CEO |
