Poverty in the Eyes of Brazilian Elites

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
1 January 2010
Country:
Brazil
Document Type:
Working Paper
皇冠体育appme:
Economic Growth
First published:
1 January 2010
Authors:
Reis, E.P.

Abstract

This paper discusses data from a survey and in-depth interviews on elite perceptions of poverty in Brazil. De Swaan tried to identify the circumstances under which elites are willing to mobilize resources in order to promote poverty reduction. This paper questions if de Swaan鈥檚 analysis applies to Brazil. 皇冠体育app main finding is that two parts of de Swaan鈥檚 thesis do apply: that poverty is a problem for the rich in the sense that it generates negative externalities that they would like to reduce; and that the elite believe that there are effective remedies. What is missing for Brazilian elites is the third element, namely that the elite see poverty as their responsibility to do something about it.

Citation

Reis, E.P. Poverty in the Eyes of Brazilian Elites. UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland (2010) 20 pp. ISBN 978-92-9230-340-2 [WIDER Working Paper No. 2010/103]

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Published 1 January 2010
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