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

Ferreira, Francisco H.G. ; Leite, Phillippe G. ; Ravallion, Martin

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABSOLUTE POVERTY;    ABSOLUTE VALUE;    ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY;    ADULT POPULATION;    AGGREGATE GROWTH;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4431
RP-ID  :  WPS4431

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Brazil's slow pace of povertyreduction over the last two decades reflects both low growthand a low growth elasticity of poverty reduction. Using GDPdata disaggregated by state and sector for a twenty-yearperiod, this paper finds considerable variation in thepoverty-reducing effectiveness of growth-across sectors,across space, and over time. Growth in the services sectorwas substantially more poverty-reducing than was growth ineither agriculture or industry. Growth in industry had verydifferent effects on poverty across different states and itsimpact varied with initial conditions related to humandevelopment and worker empowerment. The determinants ofpoverty reduction changed around 1994: positive growth ratesand a greater (absolute) elasticity with respect toagricultural growth contributed to faster poverty reduction.But because there was so little of it, economic growthplayed a relatively small role in accounting forBrazil's poverty reduction between 1985 and 2004. Thetaming of hyperinflation (in 1994) and substantialexpansions in social security and social assistancetransfers, beginning in 1988, accounted for a larger shareof the overall reduction in poverty.