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Reproducibility package for VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

2025
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Reference ID
RR_BRA_2025_363
Author(s)
Thiago Scot, Tatiana Flores, Pierre Bachas, Gabriel Lara Ibarra, Giovanni Padilha, Anderson Aparecido Mantovani, Evandro Souza de Oliveira
Collections
World Bank Policy Research Working Papers
Metadata
JSON
Created on
Jun 05, 2025
Last modified
Jun 05, 2025
  • Overview
  • Reproducibility Package
  • Description
  • Scope and coverage
  • Disclaimer
  • Access and rights
  • Contacts
  • Information on metadata

    • Overview

    Abstract

    This study examines the Devolve-ICMS program in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, an innovative VAT cashback initiative aimed at refunding taxes to low-income households. Using administrative records, we document key stylized facts about the workings of theprogram. We first show that even the lowest-income families in the state consume in formal stores, confirming the underlying rationale of the program. Among beneficiaries, we also document a lot of dispersion in how much of income is consumed formaly, but on average lower income families consume relatively more. We then show that 60% of the families only receive a flat cash transfer, unrelated to their consumption -- this highlights the trade-offs in generosity vs. incentivizing formal consumpion. Finally, we show important differences in consumption behavior depending on the gender of household head and participation in a prize-linked program incentivizing formal consumption.

    Reproducibility Package

    Scripts
    Get Reproducibility Package
    Title
    Reproducibility package for VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
    Date
    2025-06
    Dependencies
    R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock.
    Notes
    Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DIME) Analytics team, World Bank.
    Source code repository
    Repository name URI
    Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) https://reproducibility.worldbank.org
    Software
    Name
    R
    Version
    4.4.1

    Reproducibility

    Technology environment

    Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
    • OS: Windows 10 Enterprise, version 22H2
    • Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8562Y+ 2.81 GHz (2 processors)
    • Memory available: 32 GB
    • Software version: R 4.4.1
    Technology requirements

    Runtime: 5 minutes
    Reproduction instructions

    All data used for this reproducibility package is restricted. Users need to gain access to the data before being able to run the code. Once data is provided, users can follow these steps to reproduce the results:

    • (optional) restore the dependencies environment with renv:
      • Open R or Rstudio
      • Install renv if it's not already installed
      • execute renv::restore() to restore the dependencies environment
    • Open "0_Master.R" and run it

    Restoring the environment with renv is optional; it allows restoring the same versions of dependencies used by the replicators, which increases the chances of reproducibility in the long term.

    The reproducibility package includes the replicators' output files in the folder "Outputs". These include all exhibits and can be used to verify results against the published paper.

    Data

    Datasets
    Name
    Beneficiary households of Devolve-ICMS in 2023
    Note
    Source: Brazilian national register of social assistance (Cadastro Único). The data includes information on self-reported income, family size, municipality of residence, and gender of household head, date of entry into the program and whether the family has picked up the debit card provided. Data was accessed in June 2024. Data file: "Data/Raw/Devolve_WB_Moradores_20240626_Hash.csv".
    Access policy
    Data access requires human approval and is not included in the reproducibility package. Individuals interested in accessing the data for replication purposes can contact Thiago Scot (tscot@worldbank.org). Researchers interested in obtaining the data for their own analyses can directly contact Giovanni Padilha at the Rio Grande do Sul Finance Secretariat (GiovanniS@sefaz.rs.gov.br).
    Name
    Monthly household transfers for Devolve-ICMS in 2023
    Note
    Source: Brazilian national register of social assistance (Cadastro Único). The data includes information on monthly household consumption and transfers to households part of Devolve-ICMS. Data was accessed in June 2024. Data file: "Data/Raw/Devolve_WB_20230423_Hash.csv".
    Access policy
    Data access requires human approval and is not included in the reproducibility package. Individuals interested in accessing the data for replication purposes can contact Thiago Scot (tscot@worldbank.org). Researchers interested in obtaining the data for their own analyses can directly contact Giovanni Padilha at the Rio Grande do Sul Finance Secretariat (GiovanniS@sefaz.rs.gov.br).
    Data statement

    All data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file. (Limited-access/Restricted Data)

    Description

    Output
    Type
    PRWP Working Paper
    Title
    VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
    Description
    Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
    Authors
    Author Affiliation Email
    Thiago Scot World Bank tscot@worldbank.org
    Tatiana Flores World Bank rfloresibarra@worldbank.org
    Pierre Bachas World Bank pbachas@worldbank.org
    Gabriel Lara Ibarra World Bank glaraibarra@worldbank.org
    Giovanni Padilha SEFAZ-RS giovannis@sefaz.rs.gov.br
    Anderson Aparecido Mantovani SEFAZ-RS AndersonAM@sefaz.rs.gov.br
    Evandro Souza de Oliveira SEFAZ-RS EvandroSO@sefaz.rs.gov.br
    Date of production

    2025-06-04

    Scope and coverage

    Geographic locations
    Location Code
    Brazil BRA
    Keywords
    Value-Added Taxes Tax Exemptions Vat Cashback Brazil
    Topics
    ID Topic Parent topic ID Vocabulary Vocabulary URI
    H20 General H2 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    H22 Incidence H2 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    H70 General H7 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    H70 General H7 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)

    Disclaimer

    Disclaimer

    The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.

    Access and rights

    License
    Name URI
    Modified BSD3 https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Thiago Scot World Bank tscot@worldbank.org
    Reproducibility WBG World Bank reproducibility@worldbank.org

    Information on metadata

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Reproducibility WBG DIME World Bank - Development Impact Department Verification and preparation of metadata
    Date of Production

    2025-06-04
    Document version

    1
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