Transcript World Study on Poverty and Disparities in Childhood Childhood and Poverty in Brazil Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA) Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Panama, June.

World Study on Poverty and
Disparities in Childhood
Childhood and Poverty
in Brazil
Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA)
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Panama, June 30th and July 1st, 2008.
Some basic facts
about Brazil.
One of Brazil’s striking features
is the degree of poverty and
inequality consistently higher
than those expected from a
country with its level of
development.
Although it cannot be considered a poor country, Brazil is a country with many poor
people. In 2006, 53 million people had been living in poverty and 20 million in
situation of extreme poverty.
Poverty and extreme poverty in Brazil - 2006
Poverty
Extreme
poverty
Average income (in R$ per month)¹
495
495
Percentage of poor (P0)
29,6
10,7
Number of poor people (in millions)
53,0
19,3
Average distance between the poor's income and the poverty line (in
percentage of the poverty line)
41,7
40,4
Average distance between the poor's income and the poverty line (in R$
per person per month)¹
69,7
33,8
Average income of the poor (in R$ per person per month)¹
97,4
49,8
Poverty line (in R$ per month)¹
167
83,6
Relation between the average income and the poverty line
2,96
5,92
Annual volume of necessary resources to eradicate poverty (in billions of
R$)¹
44,3
7,8
Necessary resources to eradicate poverty as a percentage of the families'
income
4,16
0,73
Necessary resources to eradicate poverty as a percentage of non-poor
families's income
4,42
0,74
Necessary resources to eradicate poverty as a percentage of income
superior to the poverty line of non-poor families
5,92
0,87
Indicators
Source: Estimates based on Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) - 2006.
Notes: 1. Values in R$ from september 2006
2. It was used the regional average poverty line
The share of income appropriated by the poorest 50% is almost of the same
magnitude of the one appropriated by the richest 1%.
Indicators of per capita income inequality in Brazil, 2006
Indicators
Value
Percentage of income appropriated by the poorest tenths (%)
First
0,94
Second
2,97
Third
5,87
Fourth
9,71
Fifth
14,7
Sixth
21,0
Seventh
28,9
Eight
39,6
Ninth
55,6
Percentage of income appropriated by the last cent
12,6
Gini Coefficient
0,559
Theil-T index
0,634
Ratio between the income of the richest 10% and the poorest 40%
18,3
Ratio between the income of the richest 20% and the poorest 20%
20,4
Source: Estimates based on Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) - 2006.
For more than four decades inequality in Brazil
was not only extremely high, but also
incredibly stable.
Recently this pattern began to change.
Between 2001 and 2006 the country
experienced a continuous and substantial fall in
inequality of income, reaching its lowest level
of the last 30 years.
The degree of inequality declined sharply, with
an average annual reduction of 1,2% between
2001 and 2006.
From the average to the lowest level.
Evolution of inequality in per capita income: Brazil,
1976-2006 (Gini coefficient)
0,650
0,640
0,634
0,630
0,623
0,620
0,623
Gini coefficient
0,612
0,610
0,615
0,604
0,602
0,600
0,590
0,594
0,596
0,600
0,599
0,599
Average of Gini
coefficient
0,600
0,600
0,592
0,593
0,593
0,582
0,589
0,580
0,588
0,587
0,587
0,581
0,580
0,569
0,570
0,566
0,560
0,550
1976
0,559
Minimum Gini
coefficient
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
Year
Source: Estimates based on Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) - 1976 to 2006.
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
This reduction in the income inequality
has had significant impacts on poverty
and living conditions for the poorest
people.
From 2001 to 2006 the per capita income of the bottom 10% increased at a
Chinese rate (9% per year). It was more than three times the national
average (2,5%)
Average annual growth rate of family per capita income by
tenth of the distribution: 2001-06
10
9
Bottom 10%
Average annual growth rate (%)
8
7
6
5
4
Top 10%
3
National average
2
1
0
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Eighth
Ninth
Tenth
In terms of poverty reduction, Brazil
has already achieved the first of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
– to reduce by half the proportion of
the population living in extreme
poverty by 2015.
Indeed, not only the recent decline in the extreme poverty was three times faster than the
necessary for the Country to achieve the MDG in 2015, more than 60% of this fall came from the
decline in inequality occurred during this period.
Evolution of Extreme Poverty in Brazil: 2001-2006
20
Reduction in extreme poverty
necessary for meeting the MDG by 2015
Proportion of the population below the extreme poverty line
19
18
Extreme poverty in 2001
17
2.2
16
Evolution
without growth
15
4.
14
13
Reduction in extreme poverty
due to Inequality decline
6.7
12
11
Total reduction in
extreme poverty
Millenium Development Goal for 2015
Extreme poverty in 2006
10
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
But even with the sharp decline in
income inequality, Brazil is still far
from a reasonable level of
inequality.
Therefore, we must ensure the
sustainability of this process of
poverty and inequality reduction.
Because of the limited ability to
raise significantly the social
spending, the sustainability of the
fall in poverty and inequality will
depend on improvements in the
efficiency of spending, and
particularly in the coverage and
attention to social groups that
have been less benefited from this
recent social progress.
Poverty in Brazil has been
concentrated in some groups,
and the sharp decline in poverty
and extreme poverty observed
recently in the Country did not
benefit all groups equally.
The degree of extreme poverty is
much higher among children than
in other age groups
and
over the last five years, the fall in
extreme poverty among the
elderly was much higher than that
among children.
We have been giving priority to the elderly, while reducing poverty.
Average annual rate of reduction in poverty headcount
by age: Brazil, 2001-06
30
average annual rate of reduction (%)
25
20
15
Poverty
Extreme poverty
10
5
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Age
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
So that the decline in poverty in
Brazil is sustainable, we must
change the focus of social policy,
giving greater importance to
programs targeted at children.
We need to reduce the age bias of
public transfers.
As a consequence of this age bias, the level of poverty among children is
almost tenfold higher than among the elderly.
Extreme poverty by age, Brazil 2006
24
22
Children
extreme poverty headcount (%)
20
18
16
14
12
National mean
10
8
6
Elderly
4
2
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
age (years)
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
Poverty has a child’s face…
… in 2006, about 56%, or 11.5
million children, 0 to 6 live in
poverty
70 %
60 %
… in 2006, about 40.5%, or 4.2
million children, 15 to 17 live in
poverty
50 %
40 %
30 %
Average: 31.5 %
20 %
10 %
0%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90 e
more
Moreover, poverty is not
equally distributed among
children. There are groups
poorer than others.
This inequality is higher in
Brazil than in other Latin
American countries.
Differential school attendance rate for children 10 to 14 - around 2005
Argentina
Jamaica
Bolivia
Brazil
Panama
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic
Venezuela
Paraguay
Guatemala
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Peru
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Uruguay
Colombia
Mexico
Honduras
Chile
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
School attendance rate
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential probability of completing 6th grade on time - around 2005
El Salvador
Mexico
Bolivia
Uruguay
Colombia
Jamaica
Panama
Paraguay
Venezuela
Costa Rica
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic
Chile
Honduras
Peru
Guatemala
Ecuador
Argentina
Brazil
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
Average probability
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential probability of completing third grade on time - around 2005
El Salvador
Mexico
Bolivia
Uruguay
Colombia
Argentina
Jamaica
Panama
Chile
Nicaragua
Peru
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Dominican Republic
Venezuela
Costa Rica
Paraguay
Guatemala
Honduras
Ecuador
Brazil
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
Average probability
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential literacy rate at age 15 - around 2005
Jamaica
Argentina
Chile
Ecuador
Mexico
Guatemala
Peru
Bolivia
Brazil
Costa Rica
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents.
Child with one young
brother in a urban twoparent household, with
completed secondary
education.
Panama
Paraguay
Dominican Republic
Uruguay
Colombia
Venezuela
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
Literacy rate
0,6
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential access to water and sanitation - around 2005
Costa Rica
Uruguay
Chile
Ecuador
Paraguay
Venezuela
Argentina
Mexico
Colombia
Peru
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Brazil
Guatemala
Dominican Republic
Honduras
Panama
Nicaragua
Bolivia
El Salvador
Jamaica
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
0,7
Average access to water and sanitation
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential access to electricity - around 2005
Venezuela
Costa Rica
Argentina
Uruguay
Mexico
Ecuador
Chile
Brazil
Paraguay
Honduras
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents.
Child with one young
brother in a urban twoparent household, with
completed secondary
education.
Dominican Republic
Panama
Peru
Nicaragua
Guatemala
El Salvador
Bolivia
Jamaica
Colombia
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
Average access to electricity
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential access to water - around 2005
Costa Rica
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Uruguay
Venezuela
Paraguay
Panama
Honduras
Ecuador
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Nicaragua
Mexico
Bolivia
Peru
Guatemala
Colombia
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
El Salvador
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
Average probability
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
Differential access to sanitation - around 2005
Costa Rica
Uruguay
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Chile
Venezuela
Argentina
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Child with four young
brothers in a rural singleparent household, with
illiterate parents and per
capita income of 1US$ (PPP).
Child with one young brother
in a urban two-parent
household, with completed
secondary education and per
capita income of 25US$
(PPP).
Mexico
Peru
Brazil
Honduras
Panama
Nicaragua
Bolivia
El Salvador
0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
Average access to sanitation
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
In sum, to shift the focus of
social policy we need:
1) A wide perception of the precarious position that
children occupy in the Brazilian income distribution, its
high level of poverty and the serious consequences
that this situation may have on child development and
hence on the reproduction of poverty.
2) Identification of the causes of this high level of child
poverty. In particular, it is necessary to assess to what
extent it arises from deficiencies in the social
protection system regarding coverage and attention to
younger families, the difficulty of inserting these
families in the labor market, or of both factors.
Regarding the main objectives of the study:
1) Collect data and build indicators in order to produce a
diagnosis of the situation of children in the Country,
taking as basis different concepts of child poverty.
Whenever possible sub national analysis is going to
be done.
2) Examine the scale and scope of social policies aimed
at childhood in the country.
3) To prepare suggestions for actions to promote the
welfare of children in situations of deprivation, as
well as their families
1) Diagnosis of the situation of children.
1.1. Poverty among children
 To investigate the position of children in
Brazilian distribution of income.
 To investigate whether this position has varied
over time.
1.2. The profile of poor children
 Concentration of poverty in some groups of
children (profile of poverty).
 Degree of inequality among children.
Distribution of children aged 0 to 14 in population distribution
according to per capita income
2,5
Distribution of children (%)
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Centiles of the distribution
Source: Pesquisa Nacional por Amotra de Domicílios (PNAD) 2006.
70
80
90
100
Poverty and extreme poverty among children (0 to 14 years) of the
southern elite and northeast
90
80
Poverty
70
Extreme poverty
60
(%)
50
40
30
20
10
0
Black, illiterate parents in the rural area of the northeast region
White, parents with some education, in the urban area of the
southern region
Source: Pesquisa Nacional por Amotra de Domicílios (PNAD) 2006.
Concentration of poverty in some groups of
children.
The probability of being poor.
5 dimensions
1) Estimate the
predicted
probability for
each dimension.
Household
income
Nutrition
Health
2) Aggregate this
five dimensions in
a Child Poverty
Index.
Child
protection
Education
- Indicator 1
- Indicator 2
- Indicator 3
- etc….
2) Examining the scale and scope of social policies
aimed at childhood in the country.
The impact of demographic, social protection policies and labor
market on the differences in poverty among families with and
without children.
The impact of these factors on the income gap of poor families
with children poor and non poor.
How these factors for households with children have been
changed in recent decades?
The impact of these factors on the recent fall of child poverty.
Why the decline in poverty among children was less marked
than the national average?
Components of per capita income for the total of families
with children aged 0 to 14 - 2006
Indicators
Per capita income
Proportion of adults
Income per adult
Proportion of adults occupied
Labor income per adults
Labor income per worker
Other incomes per adult
Source: Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) 2006.
All families
Families with children
(0 to 14 years)
495
0,74
669
0,46
507
808
161
341
0,60
571
0,39
484
734
87
3) To prepare suggestions for actions to promote the
welfare of children in situations of deprivation, as well
as their families.
To assess the adequacy of policies on child care, in particular:
 Is there an age bias in Brazilian social policy?
 The programmes reach the poorest children?
 Identify, based on the diagnosis, the major needs of
children in the Country.
 Compare needs and supply
Some policy issues:
 Survey of policies: In Brazil social policy is extremely
decentralized (Federal, Units of federation and municipalities more than 5,000 municipalities). For example, the educational
policy for early childhood is a municipalities' responsibility.
 Public spending: We have information on public spending by
function. For example, we have the information on health
spending by municipal level, but we cannot easily separate the
amount spended on children’s health.
 Policies’ description: We want a description of how social
policy really works in Brazil or we are interested in what the
official speech about on the childhood policy?