Regional socio economic inequalities in Brazil and poverty indicators in Brazilian Social Programs: the case of 'Brazil Sem Miséria' Program

• In Event: Las caras de la desigualdad: cinco casos latinoamericanos de la problemática regional

Abstract

This paper analyzes and present the limits of the methodology of poverty measurement used by the Brazilian federal government in its Brasil Sem Miséria Program (PBSM). Through an organization and analysis of secondary data collected from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) about different regions in Brazil, we conducted a comparison between this methodology and the one proposed by the economist Sonia Rocha. Her methodology establishes poverty lines which are based on regional inequalities and indexed to the consumer basket values .The results of both methodologies are compared, showing that PBSM lines are incapable of detecting 12.9 million Brazilians living in poverty. In our conclusions, we present suggestions to improve the government’s poverty measurement methodology which includes a regionalization of poverty lines and an index based on regional consumer basket prices.

Author

• Marilia P Ramos, University Federal of Rio Grande do Sul