The Dynamics of Poverty and itsDeterminants: The Case of the Northeast of Brazil and its States

Fiess, Norbert M. ; Verner, Dorte

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: POVERTY INCIDENCE;    ABSOLUTE POVERTY;    CASE STUDY;    POVERTY DEPTH;    POVERTY LINE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-3259
RP-ID  :  WPS3259

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

In the northeast region of Brazil, thepoverty picture of the past two decades reveals largefluctuations in the poverty level, and poverty depth.Findings based on the Brazilian annual household survey(Pesquisa Nacional de Amostra Domiciliar, PNAD) datasetsfrom 1981-99 reveal that individual characteristics such aseducation, experience, and labor market association of thehousehold head are important correlates of poverty. Takingthese into account, data reveal that a Nordestino(northeasterner) is 24 percentage points more likely to fallbelow the indigent poverty line than other Brazilians.Analyses also reveal large differences in poverty levels byeducation, and these differences have increased over time.The authors observe that the probability of being poor isdecreasing with increasing educational attainment. Thegender of the household head does not matter for poverty,according to the poverty profile. But when the authorscontrol for education and other individual characteristics,female-headed households have a much larger likelihood ofbeing poor than male-headed households. Household size alsomatters for poverty. Larger households are more likely toexperience poverty than smaller households, and the effectis concave. Moreover, households with children under age 5appear more likely to fall below the poverty line, thanfamilies with no children below age 5. The presence ofold-aged people (above 65 years) in the household is animportant factor contributing to poverty reduction.