Читать книгу The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries - Группа авторов - Страница 58

In the analysis above, I have provided an overview of changes in inequality and poverty in India and Brazil in roughly the past two and half decades. In India, inequality has increased, and although poverty has decreased, the reduction has been disappointing given the high growth. On the contrary, in Brazil, inequality and poverty have both reduced substantially, although inequality still continues to be quite high. This chapter highlights the crucial role played by social policies in these differential outcomes.

Before concluding, it is important to make two caveats. First, as we have discussed above, Brazil has made only modest progress in the reduction of ethnic/racial inequality. While social policy has been effective in reducing interpersonal and class-based inequalities, it did not contribute much on this front. Based upon a rigorous methodology and after considering various types of fiscal measures, Pereira (2016) concludes that: “Fiscal interventions did not have a significant impact in reducing the divide between whites and non-whites in Brazil.” Brazil therefore serves as a good example of why horizontal inequalities merit serious attention and are distinct from vertical inequalities. Second, scholars have argued that some of the Brazilian policies have reached their limits, e.g. see Ferreira de Souza’s (2012) discussion on the minimum wage. This issue and the fiscal concerns involved in sustaining the social programs currently in place, require further discussion.