Inequality And Economic Development In Brazil

by Ferreira, Francisco H. G.

• ISBN13: 9780821358801
• ISBN10: 0821358804
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-30
• Publisher: World Bank

Summary

This publication is part of a series of country reports which examine the work of the World Bank on the economic and related conditions of member countries, published with the approval of the subject government. This study focuses on three key issues: the impact of inequalities on Brazil's development; the reasons why Brazil has a very high and persistent level of income inequality compared to other countries; and the role of public policy in addressing the problem.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms	xv
Executive Summary	xvii
PART I: Policy Report
C. E. Velez
R. P. de Barros
F. Ferreira
Introduction	3	(2)
Why Do Inequalities Matter for Brazil?	5	(6)
Why is Brazil Such an Unequal Society?	11	(26)
Inequality in Brazil	11	(9)
The Causes of Inequality	20	(8)
Public Policy and Equity	28	(9)
What Can and Should Public Policy Do About Inequality in Brazil?	37	(22)
Human Assets and Land: Endowments and Prices	38	(11)
Public Social Expenditure and Taxation	49	(10)
Conclusions	59	(22)
Appendix	63	(4)
Bibliography	67	(14)
PART II: Background Papers
Poverty and Inequality in Brazil: New Estimates from Combined PPV-PNAD Data	81	(24)
C. Elbers
J. O. Lanjouw
P. Lanjouw
P. G. Leite
Data	83	(1)
Methodology	84	(3)
Implementation	87	(1)
Poverty and Inequality at the Regional Level	88	(4)
Poverty and Inequality at Lower Levels of Disaggregation	92	(8)
Inequality Decompositions	100	(2)
Conclusions	102	(1)
References	103	(2)
Beyond Oaxaca-Blinder: Accounting for Differences in Household Income Distributions across Countries	105	(44)
F. Bourguignon
F. H. G. Ferreira
P. G. Leite
Introduction	106	(2)
Income Distribution in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States	108	(4)
A General Statement of Statistical Decomposition Analysis	112	(2)
The Decompositions in Practice: A Specific Model	114	(6)
The Brazil-United States Comparison	120	(11)
The Brazil-Mexico Comparison	131	(3)
Conclusions	134	(1)
Appendix	135	(12)
References	147	(2)
Inequality of Outcomes, Inequality of Opportunities, and Intergenerational Education Mobility in Brazil	149	(30)
F. Bourguignon
F. Ferreira
M. Menendez
Introduction	150	(1)
Theoretical Background	151	(2)
Opportunities and the Distribution of Individual Wages	153	(14)
Simulating the Effects of the Inequality of Opportunities on Earnings	167	(5)
The Effects of the Inequality of Opportunities on the Distribution of Household Income	172	(5)
Summary and Conclusion	177	(1)
References	178	(1)
Indirect Taxation Reform: Searching for Dalton-Improvements in Brazil	179	(24)
C. E. Velez
S. W. Vianna
F. G. Silveira
L. C. Magalhaes
Introduction	180	(1)
Taxation in Brazil: Recent Evolution, Trends and Issues	181	(3)
What is the Impact of Taxation on the Distribution of Secondary Income?	184	(4)
Dalton Improving Tax Reforms: Analytical Framework	188	(2)
Identifying Potential Candidates for Raising and Reducing Taxes	190	(3)
The Pairs of Tax Changes that Satisfy the Dalton Improvement Condition	193	(3)
Conclusions	196	(1)
Appendix	196	(5)
References	201	(2)
Schooling Expansion in Demographic Transition: A Transient Opportunity for Inequality Reduction in Brazil	203	(22)
C. E. Velez
M. Medeiros
S. Soares
Introduction	204	(2)
Demographic Background	206	(1)
Methodology and Data	207	(1)
The Evolution of Education Between Cohorts: Monotonically Increasing Mean, Decreasing Inequality and Inverted U-Shaped Mean-Variance Schedule	208	(2)
The Increasing Stock-to-Cohort Time Lag of Educational Attainment	210	(2)
Simulations: Permanent and Temporary Acceleration of Educational Attainment	212	(3)
Conclusions	215	(2)
Appendix	217	(7)
Bibliography	224	(1)
Ex-ante Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: The Case of Bolsa Escola	225	(24)
F. Bourguignon
F. H. G. Ferreira
P. G. Leite
Introduction	225	(2)
Main Features of the Bolsa Escola Program	227	(1)
A Simple Framework for Modeling and Simulating Bolsa Escola	228	(2)
Estimation of the Discrete Choice Model	230	(3)
Descriptive Statistics and Estimation Results	233	(8)
An ex ante Evaluation of Bolsa Escola and Alternative Program Designs	241	(5)
Conclusions	246	(1)
References	247	(2)
The Dynamics of the Skill-Premium in Brazil: Growing Demand and Insufficient Supply?	249	(1)
A. Blom
C. E. Velez
Introduction	250	(2)
Wage-inequality and Education	252	(6)
Relative Supply, Relative Demand, and the Skill-premium	258	(9)
What If? Alternative Paths for Supply and Wage-inequality in the Past	267	(1)
Summary	268	(2)
Appendix	270	(10)
References	280