{"type":"script","doc_desc":{"producers":[{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DIME","affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata"}],"prod_date":"2025-06-04","version":"1"},"project_desc":{"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Thiago Scot","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"tscot@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Tatiana Flores","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"rfloresibarra@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Pierre Bachas","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"pbachas@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Gabriel Lara Ibarra","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"glaraibarra@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Giovanni Padilha","affiliation":"SEFAZ-RS","email":"giovannis@sefaz.rs.gov.br"},{"name":"Anderson Aparecido Mantovani","affiliation":"SEFAZ-RS","email":"AndersonAM@sefaz.rs.gov.br"},{"name":"Evandro Souza de Oliveira","affiliation":"SEFAZ-RS","email":"EvandroSO@sefaz.rs.gov.br"}],"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil","idno":"RR_BRA_2025_363"},"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)","software":[{"name":"R","version":"4.4.1"}],"scripts":[{"title":"Reproducibility package for VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil","date":"2025-06","notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DIME) Analytics team, World Bank.","file_name":"RR_BRA_2025_363","zip_package":"RR_BRA_2025_363.zip","dependencies":"R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock."}],"repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"production_date":"2025-06-04","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. ","geographic_units":[{"name":"Brazil","code":"BRA"}],"keywords":[{"name":"Value-Added Taxes"},{"name":"Tax Exemptions"},{"name":"Vat Cashback"},{"name":"Brazil"}],"topics":[{"id":"H20","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"General","parent_id":"H2"},{"id":" H22","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Incidence","parent_id":"H2"},{"id":" H70","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"General","parent_id":"H7"},{"id":" H70","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"General","parent_id":"H7"}],"output":[{"type":"PRWP Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)","title":"VAT Cashback Programs In Practice - The Case Of Devolve-ICMS In Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil"}],"language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"technology_requirements":"Runtime: 5 minutes","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.","license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Thiago Scot","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"tscot@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org"}],"datasets":[{"name":"Beneficiary households of Devolve-ICMS in 2023","note":"Source: Brazilian national register of social assistance (Cadastro \u00danico). The data includes information on self-reported income, family size, municipality of residence, and gender of household\nhead, 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_type":"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\nScot (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","access_type":"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\nScot (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).","note":"Source: Brazilian national register of social assistance (Cadastro \u00danico). 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\"."}],"technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: Windows 10 Enterprise, version 22H2\n\u2022 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8562Y+ 2.81 GHz (2 processors)\n\u2022 Memory available: 32 GB\n\u2022 Software version: R 4.4.1","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:\n- (optional) restore the dependencies environment with renv:\n    - Open R or Rstudio\n    - Install `renv` if it's not already installed\n    - execute `renv::restore()` to restore the dependencies environment\n- Open \"0_Master.R\" and run it\n\nRestoring 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.\n\nThe 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."},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"Limited-access data"},{"tag":"Open Code"}],"schematype":"script"}