Over the past two decades, poverty and income inequality declined sharply in Espírito Santo. About half of the observed reduction in poverty was due to the concomitant and also sharp drop in inequality that characterized the period under review. This sharp reduction in poverty and inequality,...

This study has the purpose to evaluate the importance of establishing local quotas for the degree of focus of the Bolsa Família Program. With a focus degree in the order of 57%, the gain of the current system of the beneficiaries? selection on the Bolsa Família Program, when contrasted to a...

The goal of the Cadastro Único para Programas Sociais (CadÚnico) is the registration and maintenance of updated information of all Brazilian families with per capita income less than R$ 120.00. Although the use of CadÚnico continues focusing on the selection of beneficiaries of the Bolsa...

The progress occurred over the last decade is undeniable, combining less poverty, with more choice and access to better services, as well as better use of these services by families with children. However, more important than the speed of progress may be the fact that it was clearly equalizing....

In this study, we documented the progress occurred in the country in reducing child labor between 1992 and 2008, and the challenges that still need to be met to their complete eradication. Brazil has been successful in adopting policies focused to eliminate child labor which has declined sharply...

In this study we document the recent evolution of the income inequality in Brazil, which since 2001 has been declining sharply and continuously. The Gini coefficient, one of the most used inequality measure, declined 4,6%, from 0,594 in 2001 to 0,566 in 2005. But, in spite of this important...

Between 2001 e 2005, the degree of income inequality in Brazil declined sharply and continuously, reaching in 2005 the lowest level in the last 30 years. The Gini coefficient declined by almost 5%, and the ratio between the richest 20% and the poorest 20% declined more than 20%. This reduction...

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...