Assess the effectiveness of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in reducing poverty and building human capital by conducting a comparative evaluation of Mexico’s Progresa/Oportunidades and Brazil’s Bolsa Família. Test students’ ability to analyze program design (targeting, conditionalities, benefit levels), implementation, measured impacts on income, consumption, schooling, and health, evaluate empirical methods and robustness of evidence (experimental/quasi-experimental), identify limitations and unintended effects, and derive policy lessons for scalability and adaptation in other contexts.