Efeitos do crescimento da renda e do bem-estar multidimensional nos índices de pobreza e desigualdade do Brasil: uma análise dos anos de 2004- 2008 e 2016-2019

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21st century, the study of the triangular relationship between economic growth, poverty and inequality is highlighted in academic debates and works. The main focus was how growth could reduce poverty and inequality, a topic known as pro-poor growth. According to the literature on this topic, it is exclusively the growth of income that explains the results of social indicators. However, in addition to studying poverty and inequality solely by the income variable, these indices can also be studied by addressing basic needs and skills, which provide a broader analysis for research. According to these perspectives, poverty is characterized in terms of multidimensional well-being and dimensions such as education, health and work must be studied. In this way, this research aims to analyze the effects of income growth and multidimensional well-being on the poverty and inequality indices of Brazil in the period 2004-2008 and 2016-2019. To achieve the central objective of this study, the Ravallion and Chen and Kakwani and Pernia indices were estimated, in addition to the Poverty Equivalent Growth Rate (PEGR) using data from the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domícilios (PNAD) of 2004 and 2008 and of PNAD Contínua (PNADC). It was concluded through the tests of pro-poor growth that, the growth of income positively affected the indicators of poverty and inequality in the period of 2004-2008, unlike 2016-2019. In contrast, the growth in multidimensional well-being negatively affected the indicators in the two research periods. In addition, it was found that the influence of income growth is more prominent in a period of economic growth, differently from a period of economic crisis. On the other hand, through multidimensional analysis, it was observed that both in a period of high or low growth, the results of the growth of multidimensional well-being tend not to favor the poor. The results demonstrate that public policies are needed to tackle poverty and inequality in the country, in order to guarantee the basic skills and needs of Brazilian society.