IMF Working Papers

Inequality in Brazil: A Regional Perspective

By Carlos Góes, Izabela Karpowicz

October 31, 2017

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Carlos Góes, and Izabela Karpowicz. Inequality in Brazil: A Regional Perspective, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2017) accessed November 5, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

In this study, we document the decline in income inequality and a convergence in consumption patterns in Brazilian states in a new database constructed from micro data from the national households’ survey. We adjust the state-Gini coefficients for spatial price differences using information on households’ rental prices available in the survey. In a panel regression framework, we find that labor income growth, formalization, and schooling contributed to the decline in inequality during 2004-14, but redistributive policies, such as Bolsa Família, have also played a positive role. Going forward, it will be important to phase out untargeted subsidies, such as public spending on tertiary education, and contain growth of public sector wages, to improve budgetary efficiency and protect gains in equality.

Subject: Education, Income, Income distribution, Income inequality, Labor, National accounts, Wages

Keywords: Brazil, Global, Growth in the public sector, Household income, IMF staff calculation, Income, Income convergence, Income distribution, Income growth, Income inequality, Income inequality in Brazil, Inequality in Brazil, Labor income, Minimum wage, Public sector wage Premia, Quartile income, Redistribution policies, State Gini coefficient, Wage growth, Wages, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    34

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2017/225

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2017225

  • ISBN:

    9781484324776

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941

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