Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004

Brazil's slow pace of poverty reduction between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s reflects both low growth and a low growth elasticity of poverty reduction. Using GDP data disaggregated by state and sector for a twenty-year period, this paper finds considerable variation in the poverty-reducing e...

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Main Authors: Ferreira, Francisco H.G., Leite, Phillippe G., Ravallion, Martin
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5728
id okr-10986-5728
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-57282021-04-23T14:02:23Z Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004 Ferreira, Francisco H.G. Leite, Phillippe G. Ravallion, Martin Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Brazil's slow pace of poverty reduction between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s reflects both low growth and a low growth elasticity of poverty reduction. Using GDP data disaggregated by state and sector for a twenty-year period, this paper finds considerable variation in the poverty-reducing effectiveness of growth--across sectors, across space, and over time. Growth in the services sector was substantially more poverty-reducing than was growth in either agriculture or industry. Growth in industry had different effects on poverty across different states and its impact varied with initial conditions related to human development and worker empowerment. But because there was so little of it, economic growth actually played a relatively small role in accounting for Brazil's poverty reduction between 1985 and 2004. The taming of hyperinflation (in 1994) and a substantial expansion in social security and social assistance transfers, in large part mandated by the 1988 Constitution, accounted for the bulk of the overall reduction in poverty. 2012-03-30T07:34:15Z 2012-03-30T07:34:15Z 2010 Journal Article Journal of Development Economics 03043878 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5728 EN CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Publications & Research :: Journal Article Publications & Research Brazil
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
spellingShingle Measurement and Analysis of Poverty I320
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
Ferreira, Francisco H.G.
Leite, Phillippe G.
Ravallion, Martin
Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
geographic_facet Brazil
description Brazil's slow pace of poverty reduction between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s reflects both low growth and a low growth elasticity of poverty reduction. Using GDP data disaggregated by state and sector for a twenty-year period, this paper finds considerable variation in the poverty-reducing effectiveness of growth--across sectors, across space, and over time. Growth in the services sector was substantially more poverty-reducing than was growth in either agriculture or industry. Growth in industry had different effects on poverty across different states and its impact varied with initial conditions related to human development and worker empowerment. But because there was so little of it, economic growth actually played a relatively small role in accounting for Brazil's poverty reduction between 1985 and 2004. The taming of hyperinflation (in 1994) and a substantial expansion in social security and social assistance transfers, in large part mandated by the 1988 Constitution, accounted for the bulk of the overall reduction in poverty.
format Journal Article
author Ferreira, Francisco H.G.
Leite, Phillippe G.
Ravallion, Martin
author_facet Ferreira, Francisco H.G.
Leite, Phillippe G.
Ravallion, Martin
author_sort Ferreira, Francisco H.G.
title Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
title_short Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
title_full Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
title_fullStr Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
title_full_unstemmed Poverty Reduction without Economic Growth? Explaining Brazil's Poverty Dynamics, 1985-2004
title_sort poverty reduction without economic growth? explaining brazil's poverty dynamics, 1985-2004
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5728
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