Differences in income, nutrition and poverty within Brazil
Thomas, V.
World Bank Staff Working Paper, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 505: 91
1982
Document Number: 392868
Regional disparities in living standards within Brazil have received increasing attention in recent years. This paper attempts to throw light on this issue by providing a quantitative range for these differences. Drawing on the national consumption survey called (ENDEF) for 1974/75, estimates are set out for real income, nutritional levels and poverty for major regions, and urban and rural areas. The results of this study indicate that, although cost of living adjustments narrow spatial differences, large regional disparities remain, particularly upon comparing the Northeast and the Southeast. The use of cost of living indices reduces urban-rural variations more than in the case of regional differences, drastically narrowing the urban-rural gap in food consumption. Poverty is, nevertheless, much more concentrated in the rural areas than in urban areas, although regional differences in the incidence of poverty are more striking than the urban-rural divergencies.