Poverty in Brazil - What role do racial differences play?

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction to Poverty in Brazil

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Literature Review

Chapter 2. Brazilian Poverty Profile by Race

2.1. Data Issues

2.2. Income as an Indicator of Household Welfare

2.3. Poverty Lines

2.4. Aggregated Poverty Measures

2.4.2. FGT Class of Poverty Measures

2.4.3. Robustness Analysis

Chapter 3. Correlates of Brazilian Poverty

3.1. Regressions over the Whole Sample

3.2. Separate Regressions by Race

3.3. Interactive Regression Models

Chapter 4. Conclusions

Research Objectives and Key Themes

This thesis investigates the role of race in explaining poverty in Brazil and analyzes the correlates of poverty using 2002 data. It aims to provide an accurate poverty profile of the Brazilian population with a specific focus on its racial dimension, testing the hypothesis that poverty contains a racial component not entirely explained by other factors such as education.

• Role of race in determining poverty in Brazil
• Multivariate analysis of poverty correlates
• Comparison of poverty levels across racial groups
• Evaluation of methodological approaches to poverty estimation
• Policy implications for poverty reduction and anti-discrimination

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

Chapter 1. Introduction to Poverty in Brazil: This chapter provides an overview of the poverty debate in Brazil and outlines the research motivation for investigating the racial dimension of poverty.

Chapter 2. Brazilian Poverty Profile by Race: This chapter introduces the data set, discusses methodological choices regarding poverty lines and income indicators, and presents an analysis of poverty measures decomposed by race.

Chapter 3. Correlates of Brazilian Poverty: This chapter investigates the determinants of poverty through various regression models, including OLS and probit, and analyzes the influence of racial background alongside other household characteristics.

Chapter 4. Conclusions: This chapter synthesizes the research findings, discusses policy implications, and highlights the limitations of the analysis while suggesting areas for future research.

Keywords

Brazil, poverty, race, inequality, household income, regression analysis, OLS, probit, PNAD, education, poverty line, social exclusion, economic growth, racial discrimination, public policy

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary objective of this thesis?

The research aims to investigate the role of race in explaining poverty in Brazil and to analyze the correlates of poverty based on 2002 survey data.

Which dataset is used for the analysis?

The study relies on the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) for the year 2002, collected by the IBGE.

What is the core hypothesis of the work?

The author hypothesizes that poverty in Brazil has a distinct racial component that cannot be fully explained by other variables such as education or regional location.

Which scientific methods are applied?

The analysis employs distributional poverty measures (Foster-Greer-Thorbecke class) and multivariate regression techniques, including both OLS and probit models.

What are the main thematic areas covered?

The thesis covers regional disparities, demographic influences (household size, dependency), education levels, employment sectors, and racial inequality in Brazil.

What do the regression results suggest?

The results suggest that race is a significant correlate of income and poverty, indicating that racial discrimination remains a persistent issue in Brazil.

How does household size affect poverty risk in this study?

The findings indicate that larger households with more dependent members are consistently associated with higher probabilities of being poor.

Does the analysis conclude that economic growth alone is sufficient for poverty reduction in Brazil?

No, the study concludes that because Brazil has relatively low growth-poverty elasticities, effective public policy and resource redistribution are necessary alongside economic growth.