In this paper we pursue three objectives. First, we compare the wage-distributions in the informal and formal sectors for a group of workers employed in the Brazilian Construction Sector. The empirical regularities we encounter are not, however, specific to this particular group of workers....

Over the past seventeen years the Brazilian macroeconomic performance has been considerably weaker than in previous decades. Inflation reached unprecedented levels and economic growth declined considerably. Despite the overall perception that macroeconomic performance is closely related to...

Recent changes in public employment in Brazil generate costs to workers that leave this sector. In this study we investigate the wage loss that leaving public employees may experience if they were absorbed by the private sector. Using microdata from the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de...

In this study we present evidence of the impact of demographic factors on the level of poverty based on the Brazilian experience. Two demographic factors were investigated: a) the size and b) the age composition of the population. The goal was to estimate through the micro-simulation approach...

This paper analyzes the determinants of schooling attainment at the household level for 14-years-old in urban regions of Saõ Paulo and Northeast Brazil, using data from the 1982 PNAD. We find mean schooling of 4.75 years in Saõ Paulo, and 3.25 years in the Northeast, both far short of the...