This paper proposes a method to decompose earnings inequality into a component due to unequal opportunities and a residual term. Drawing on the distinction between 'circumstance' and 'effort' variables in John Roemer's work on equality of opportunity, we associate inequality of opportunities...

This paper departs from John Roemer's formulation of the theory of equality of opportunities. It seeks to determine what part of observed outcome inequality may be attributed to differences in observed 'circumstances', including family background, and what part is due to 'personal efforts'. We...

This is a background note to a joint IPEA/World Bank Report, provisionally entitled "Selected Topics on Income Inequality in Brazil", with publication planned for 2001. The purpose of the note is twofold. First we propose four central questions which the Report should seek to address, and around...

Despite tremendous macroeconomic instability, Brazil’s urban income distributions in 1976 and 1996 appear, at first glance, deceptively similar. Mean household income per capita was stagnant, with a minute accumulated growth of 4.3% over the two decades. The Gini coefficient hovered just above...

Este trabalho considera a questão: quais os principais determinantes da desigualdade de renda no Brasil? Após lembrar a importância da questão para a nossa economia, o artigo sugere um arcabouço genérico para categorizar os determinantes da distribuição de renda, baseado em cinco grupos...

This paper provides an overview of both the current structure of poverty in Brazil through a detailed poverty profile and of the aggregate dynamics of poverty in the last two decades. We then assess a number of government policies and programs which are either specifically designed to reduce...

This paper contains a poverty profile for Brazil, based on 1996 data. Poverty measures and shares are presented for a wide range of population subgroups, based on household level data from the PNAD 1996, adjusted for imputed rents and spatial differences in cost of living. Robustness of the...

This paper combines two complementary data sets to present a disaggregated spatial profile of poverty in the Brazilian Northeast, and to investigate the importance of non-agricultural activities for its rural dwellers. We present both univariate and multivariate profiles of non-agricultural...

Após rever brevemente algumas experiências inovadoras em política social na América Latina, o presente trabalho propõe uma reforma dos instrumentos de política social no Brasil. A reforma baseia-se na criação de um benefício social único, de natureza focalizada e condicional, ao qual...

Drawing on a comprehensive compilation of quantile shares and inequality measures for 34 countries, including over 5,600 estimated Gini coefficient, we review the measurement of income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean over the last seven decades. Although the evidence from the first...