Public policies and social capital: An evaluation of RS Mais Igual

Abstract

This article investigates the major gains in terms of social, political, and cultural capital as well as ideals of citizenship and inclusion by the beneficiaries of RS Mais Igual through the analysis of discourse in the interviews carried out along the Observatory of Social Policies of the State of RS. It is believed that the beneficiaries' considerations about the effects of the program, as well as the analysis of immaterial aspects present in the speech itself, are an important source for evaluating the effectiveness of this public policy. In the discourse analyzes although a greater engagement in civic associations was not found, we perceived an increase on the feelings of autonomy and notions of citizenship by the beneficiaries.