Inequality In Brazil Research Articles

The use of ICTs and income distribution in Brazil: A machine learning explanation using SHAP values

This study explores the complex relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and socioeconomic characteristics. We employ a cutting-edge explainable machine learning approach, known as SHAP values, to interpret an XGBoost and neural network model, as well as benchmark traditional econometric methods. The application of machine learning algorithms combined with the SHAP methodology reveals complex nonlinear relationships in the data and important insights to guide tailored policy-making. Our results suggest that there is an interaction between education and ICTs that contributes to income prediction. Furthermore, level of education and age are found to be positively associated with income, while gender presents a negative relationship; that is, women earn less than men on average. This study highlights the need for more efficient public policies to fight gender inequality in Brazil. It is also important to introduce policies that promote quality education and the teaching of skills related to technology and digitalization to prepare individuals for changes in the job market and avoid the digital divide and increasing social inequality.

Images of Social Policy in Brazil

The analysis of official representations of social policy in Brazil illustrates the relevance of the concept of framing, as used by cultural sociologists, in comparative studies. The article focuses on the discourse of federal governments subsequent to the restoration of democracy (1985-2016) and the mandates of Getúlio Vargas, once called "father of the poor" in the 1930’s-1950’s. Two challenges in framing research are discussed: the nature of the concept (what is framing) and its operationalization (where is it). Having clarified the theoretical and methodological use of the concept, we move on to recognize and compare framings in 12 inaugural speeches and 39 annual accountability reports of the Executive Branch. Government understandings of four aspects of social policy are more closely analyzed: diagnoses, prognoses, goals, and framing devices. Significance attributed to social policy (such as justice, modernization, and redistribution) undergoes major changes, however continuities also appear, such as the correlation between social development and economic development. Additionally, the paper highlights the advantages of this lens, such as addressing processes in the change of framing, and some of its difficulties, such as minimizing the relational aspect of discourses and reducing framings to more traceable and measurable themes. Intersecting culture and politics enable the identification of the political effects of framings on the evolution of social policy and inequality in Brazil – as demonstrates the representations given of inequality in governmental plans and annual reports. Relevant variables are highlighted in the relations between government priorities (e.g., containing inflation and improving public education) and the agenda of reducing inequality. Some choices of this framing analysis - such as linking diagnoses and prognoses, highlighting secondary framing, and paying attention to framing devices rather than textual details - have added to the effectiveness of the concept. This analytical perspective, still little used by scholars working on these topics, contributes to the research agenda on social policy and inequality.
 
 Keywords: framing; social policies; political effects; Getúlio Vargas; restoration of democracy.

Public Involvement & Engagement in health inequalities research on COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of CIDACS/FIOCRUZ BAHIA.

Health inequalities in Brazil have deepened on Covid-19 pandemic, and the most vulnerable people were the more affected. A multidisciplinary team from Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia developed a Social Disparities Index for Covid-19 (IDS-COVID-19) to support the evaluation of effects of health inequalities on the pandemic in Brazil. Public Involvement and Engagement were the pillars of this research because they allowed us to access first hand experiences about the social context in our country. This paper aims to describe our Public Involvement and Engagement experience by analysing our challenges, strategies, activities, results, and lessons learned during the construction of IDS-COVID-19. The basis of the IDS-Covid-19 public engagement model was the participation of different social groups through methods and techniques that allow dialogue. Several activities and communication products supported the continuous interactions. Another guideline was the inclusion and the welcoming of participants from the beginning of the project to ensure that the participant's contributions could drive decision-making about the research. Participants made several contributions to the research as a new layer of information to the Index, and improvements were made to the interactive panel. They also compromised to support the dissemination and use of the product. Eight representatives of community groups and 29 policymakers participated in our engagement activities during the project. More than 500 people were in our open webinars. In addition, more than 140 news items about IDS-Covid-19 were published in national and international media. We highlight as lessons learned the adaptation of some dissemination formats to the public, and the necessity of being flexible and accessible to participants. We strengthened the relationship with relevant stakeholders by exploring individual conversations by phone, WhatsApp, email, and interviews to produce a documentary that registered this whole experience. Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia has also embedded public engagement and involvement in the study agenda.

Effects of Cultural Norms on Gender Inequality in Brazil

Effects of Cultural Norms on Gender Inequality in Brazil

Efeitos do crescimento do bem-estar multidimensional na pobreza e desigualdade do Brasil no período de 2004-2008 e 2016-2019

ABSTRACT This study aims to analyze the effects of multidimensional well-being growth on poverty and inequality in Brazil over the periods of 2004-2008 and 2016-2019. Empirically, the methodologies of Kakwani and Pernia (2000), Kakwani, Khandker, and Son (2004), and Shapley’s decomposition are used. The results have demonstrated that a decrease in multidimensional poverty happened between 2004 and 2008, and an increase happened between 2016 and -2019. The growth in multidimensional well-being in the second period has been anti-poor. With the decomposition, it was found that while multidimensional well-being growth contributed to poverty reduction between 2004 and2008, between 2016 and 2019 the concentration contributed to an increase in poverty.

COVID-19 in the midst of a "perfect storm" in neoliberal capitalism: critical reflections on its impacts in Brazil

The impacts of the recent coronavirus pandemic on Brazilian society revealed a scenario that goes beyond a health crisis. This article sets out to present the causes and consequences of a systemic crisis in the neoliberal economic order based on the prominence of markets and social exclusion, while the role of the State - as the guardian of social rights - is neglected. The methodology adopted follows a critical interdisciplinary perspective from the fields of political economy and social sciences, located in socioeconomic reports referred to in this analysis. It is argued that the neoliberal rationale guiding government policies, which is deep rooted in the social environment, has contributed to the increase in structural inequalities in Brazil, thus creating favorable conditions for exacerbating the impacts caused by the pandemic in society, particularly among the most vulnerable social groups.

Land and Water in Rural São Paulo: Case Study of Environmental Inequalities in Brazil

The governance of environmental resources in rural territories is an issue that has received special attention in recent studies. This article presents research on conflicts in the management of water policies in rural territories in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The study addresses a case of tensions and conflicts in water governance promoted by River Basin Committees. The case study, carried out in the municipality of Barra Bonita between 2000 and 2010, used qualitative social research techniques, focusing on semistructured interviews, utilizing oral reports, and documentary survey. Based on the results of this research, this article discusses how different agrarian and agricultural contexts reproduce specific forms of inequalities in access to water, thus compromising the promotion of lasting standards of environmental justice at the local level.

Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (SISVAN) coverage, nutritional status of older adults and its relationship with social inequalities in Brazil, 2008-2019: an ecological time-series study.

to analyze the temporal trend of Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional - SISVAN) coverage and the nutritional status of older adults, and its correlation with indicators of social inequality in Brazil between 2008-2019. this was an ecological study using records from SISVAN, related to the population aged 60 years and older; the temporal trend of coverage and the correlation between indicators of social inequality and increment rate of nutritional status were analyzed; slope index of inequality and concentration index were used to measure absolute and relative inequalities. 11,587,933 records were identified; national coverage increased from 0.1% (2008) to 2.9% (2019), with a statistically significant upward trend; a moderate inverse correlation with an annual increment rate of overweight between human development index and gross domestic product per capita, was found. there was an increasing trend in SISVAN coverage; the increase in overweight was associated with social inequality.

Health inequalities in Brazil: proposed prioritization to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

This study aimed to develop a prioritization index to speed up the achievement of national health targets proposed in the 2030 Agenda. This is an ecological study that addressed the Health Regions in Brazil. The index incorporated 25 indicators with analytical proximity to the official indicators of the 2030 Agenda whose data are available from public municipal sources for the period of 2015-2019. According to our study, the index was a powerful method to support health management decisions. The results showed the most vulnerable territories are located in the North Region of the country, and therefore, these are priority areas for resource allocation. The analysis of subindices highlighted local health bottlenecks, reinforcing the need for municipalities in each region to set their own priorities while making decisions for health resource allocation. By indicating Health Regions and priority themes for more investments, this investigation shows paths to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, from the local to the national level, in addition to providing elements that can be used by policy makers to minimize the effects of social inequalities on health, prioritizing territories with worse indices.

Federative Arrangements and Health Inequalities in Brazil and Argentina

Resumo Os objetivos do artigo são comparar o arranjo institucional da política de saúde de Argentina e Brasil, com foco nos arranjos federativos, e os resultados da política em relação à universalização e à igualdade entre níveis de governo. Buscou-se responder à questão recorrente no debate sobre federalismo: o formato das relações federativas tem consequências sobre a produção de políticas universais e igualitárias? O estudo é assentado em fontes documentais e bibliográficas para a comparação entre os arranjos institucionais, e em dados quantitativos relativos às dimensões consideradas na análise dos resultados: cobertura, recursos, qualidade da atenção, situação de saúde. Os indicadores de saúde das unidades federadas foram comparados a partir de medidas de dispersão e desigualdade. O artigo contribui para reforçar uma linha de argumentação que enfatiza a especificidades dos arranjos federativos e sua articulação com outras dimensões institucionais para interpretar resultados de políticas e para suprir lacunas de estudos comparativos.

Psychology, FCP, and COVID-19: Facing the Psychosocial Inequalities in Brazil

Resumo A pandemia da covid-19 impôs transformações no cotidiano mundial, em âmbito micro e macroestrutural. Seu impacto psicológico desestabiliza e evidencia desigualdades e vulnerabilidades psicossociais brasileiras. Configura-se como um estudo de perspectiva crítica, com base na Psicologia Sócio-histórica, com o objetivo de mapear os posicionamentos da Psicologia, vindos de diferentes campos, diante das ações de saúde mental. Para tanto, utiliza-se o site do Conselho Federal de Psicologia para a análise de 62 documentos, que resultaram em dois eixos de produção crítica: 1) a relação da Psicologia com o Conselho Federal de Psicologia; e 2) da Psicologia com a sociedade. Revela-se o abismo social entre segmentos da sociedade brasileira; formas de exclusão da população carcerária; violência doméstica contra as mulheres e as crianças; dificuldades de acesso a estratégias sociais, na educação e na saúde, e de superação dos impasses acirrados com a infecção global pelo novo coronavírus. Conclui-se que a diversidade de públicos, temáticas, áreas de atuação e referenciais teóricos materializa um compromisso crítico e científico da Psicologia.

A sobrevivência dos que não puderam “ficar em casa”: Resistência comunitária e precariedades ao redor do “novo normal” em favelas do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic deepened social inequalities in Brazil’s favelas. Among certain social groups, the need to keep moving to ensure survival meant greater exposure to the risks of the disease. While kinetic elites enjoyed the privilege of remaining immobile and protected, less privileged urban groups were forced to continue in movement despite the risks created by the pandemic. In this study we qualify social analyses around the so-called “new normal” based on ethnographic research conducted in urban peripheries. Empirically based on the cases of the favelas Santa Marta and Vila Vintém, we examine conditioning factors that differentiate the effects of the pandemic among favelas in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Our intent is to demonstrate the differential effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in territories where the city’s most impoverished population lacks the socioeconomic conditions to “stay home”. We indicate two general aspects: first, the pandemic deepened and re-signified pre-existing social problems; second, the shortage of public policies and complex requalifications of precariousness stimulated the development of various community-based actions to mitigate the risks of infection in these territories.

Cobertura do Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional (SISVAN), estado nutricional de idosos e sua relação com desigualdades sociais no Brasil, 2008-2019: estudo ecológico de série temporal

Abstract Objective: to analyze the temporal trend of Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional - SISVAN) coverage and the nutritional status of older adults, and its correlation with indicators of social inequality in Brazil between 2008-2019. Methods: this was an ecological study using records from SISVAN, related to the population aged 60 years and older; the temporal trend of coverage and the correlation between indicators of social inequality and increment rate of nutritional status were analyzed; slope index of inequality and concentration index were used to measure absolute and relative inequalities. Results: 11,587,933 records were identified; national coverage increased from 0.1% (2008) to 2.9% (2019), with a statistically significant upward trend; a moderate inverse correlation with an annual increment rate of overweight between human development index and gross domestic product per capita, was found. Conclusion: there was an increasing trend in SISVAN coverage; the increase in overweight was associated with social inequality.

DP 0271 - A Century of regional inequalities in Brazil

This work calculates coefficients of spatial inequalities of wealth amongst Brazilian municipalities, for each year for the period from 1920 to 2016, states of the federation, from 1939 to 2017, and amongst municipalities from each of the five Brazilians’ macro-regions, from 1920 to 2016. The use of non-parametric statistics reveals rough short-term paths of inequalities, and the occurrence of U-shaped relationships between spatial inequalities and the level of per capita GDP, known as the Williamson’s Curve (1965). Decomposition of the changes in the Gini coefficients show intense rank turbulence and leapfrogging over richer municipalities, from 1920 to 1970. Although the coefficients confirmed a long-term convergence trend in spatial inequalities, since 1970, there have been significant differences between macro-regional spatial inequalities dynamics, and a worrying switch to divergence in the Southeast, since in 1996.

Identifying hidden Zika hotspots in Pernambuco, Brazil: a spatial analysis.

Northeast Brazil has the world's highest rate of Zika-related microcephaly. However, Zika case counts cannot accurately describe burden because mandatory reporting was only established when the epidemic was declining in the region. To advance the study of the Zika epidemic, we identified hotspots of Zika in Pernambuco state, Northeast Brazil, using Aedes-borne diseases (dengue, chikungunya and Zika) and microcephaly data. We used Kulldorff's Poisson purely spatial scan statistic to detect low- and high-risk clusters for Aedes-borne diseases (2014-2017) and for microcephaly (2015-2017), separately. Municipalities were classified according to a proposed gradient of Zika burden during the epidemic, based on the combination of cluster status in each analysis and considering the strength of the evidence. We identified 26 Aedes-borne diseases clusters (11 high-risk) and 5 microcephaly clusters (3 high-risk) in Pernambuco. According to the proposed Zika burden gradient, our results indicate that the northeast of Pernambuco and the Sertão region were hit hardest by the Zika epidemic. The first is the most populous area of Pernambuco, while the second has one of the highest rates of social and economic inequality in Brazil. We successfully identified possible hidden Zika hotspots using a simple methodology combining Aedes-borne diseases and microcephaly information.

Remote teaching and inclusive education: approximations with Universal Design for Learning

This article results from the approximation between two researches in the area of education: a scientific initiation research with promotion of FAPESP and a master’s survey at PPGE/USCS. Both were based on the paradigm of inclusion and the principles of the Universal Design for Learning and were carried out in the context of the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021. The objective was to promote an interface between UDL principles and the curriculum approach in emergency remote teaching. It was empirical investigations that combined narrative research and development research and as instrument were held wheels of conversations with teachers working in the great ABC Paulista. Among the results, stands out the fact that remote teaching places light on the great social and educational inequality in Brazil, evidenced, for example, by the development of asynchronous remote teaching in printed material, something contradictory in a digital society. In addition to this need to remove digital barriers, in remote teaching it was necessary to extend the degree of influence of the learner in the teaching process and the UDL supported teachers, as it minimizes the need for curricular adaptation.

Cross-sectional analysis of students and school workers reveals a high number of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections during school reopening in Brazilian cities

Brazil experienced one of the most prolonged periods of school closures, and reopening could have exposed students to high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the infection status of students and school workers at the time of the reopening of schools located in Brazilian cities is unknown. Here we evaluated viral carriage by RT-PCR and seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM and IgG) by immunochromatography in 2259 individuals (1139 students and 1120 school workers) from 28 schools in 28 Brazilian cities. We collected the samples within 30 days after public schools reopened and before the start of vaccination campaigns. Most students (n = 421) and school workers (n = 446) had active (qRT-PCR + IgM− IgG− or qRT-PCR + IgM + IgG−/+) SARS-CoV-2 infection. Regression analysis indicated a strong association between the infection status of students and school workers. Furthermore, while 45% (n = 515) of the students and 37% (n = 415) of the school workers were neither antigen nor antibody positive in laboratory tests, 16% of the participants (169 students and 193 school workers) were oligosymptomatic, including those reinfected. These individuals presented mild symptoms such as headache, sore throat, and cough. Notably, most of the individuals were asymptomatic (83.9%). These results indicate that many SARS-CoV-2 infections in Brazilian cities during school reopening were asymptomatic. Thus, our study highlights the need to promote a coordinated public health effort to guarantee a safe educational environment while avoiding exacerbating pre-existent social inequalities in Brazil, reducing social, mental, and economic losses for students, school workers, and their families.

Labor and Racial Inequality in Brazil

Labor and Racial Inequality in Brazil

The effects of oil royalties on regional inequality in Brazil

This article evaluates the impact of oil royalties on Brazil’s production structure and their effects on regional inequality. An interregional input-output model was used, encompassing the 27 Brazilian states and 26 sectors, with base year 2008. The simulation strategy assumed 75% of these funds are channelled into education and 25% into the health sector, as mandated by Law 12.858/2013. To measure the effect of royalties on regional inequality, the Gini coefficient was calculated both ex-ante and ex-post with respect to the impact analysis. The main findings indicate that interregional and intersectoral spillovers are weak; but, in the Southeast and Northeast regions, the investment of royalties in education and health could help reduce intraregional inequality.

Deepening and widening the gap: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender and racial inequalities in Brazil.

Shaped by inconsistent policy decisions, the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has made structural gender and racial inequalities more acute. Black and low-income women are overburdened with unpaid domestic work, increased domestic violence, and more vulnerable due to informal and exploitative working regimes. These structural aspects are intensifying, since the pandemic has broadened inequalities at the intersection of gender, race, labor market, and social class. We examine pre- and during pandemic inequalities on three dimensions: (a) unpaid domestic and care work, (b) women's labor market participation, and (c) domestic violence. We link the care diamond model and racial stratification forwarding a feminist perspective by examining how the interlocking of race and gender in Brazil renders different socioeconomic dynamics to the detriment of Black and low-income women. Based on this evidence, we stress that a more equal future requires a better social protection and policies targeting the articulation of gender, race, and class.