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Macroeconomic Performance And Inequality: Brazil, 1983–94

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  • Manoel BITTENCOURT

Abstract

We examine how poor macroeconomic performance, mainly in terms of high rates of inflation, affected earnings inequality in the 1980s and early 1990s in Brazil. The results, based initially on aggregate time series, and then on sub‐national panel time‐series data and analysis, show that the extreme inflation, combined with an imperfect process of financial adaptation and incomplete indexation coverage, had a regressive and significant impact on inequality. The implication of the results is that sound macroeconomic policies, which keep inflation low and stable in the long run, should be a necessary first step of any policy package implemented to alleviate inequality in Brazil.

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  • Manoel BITTENCOURT, 2009. "Macroeconomic Performance And Inequality: Brazil, 1983–94," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 47(1), pages 30-52, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:deveco:v:47:y:2009:i:1:p:30-52
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1049.2009.00075.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2011. "Inflation and financial development: Evidence from Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1-2), pages 91-99, January.
    2. Manoel Bittencourt, 2013. "Economic Growth and Inequality: Evidence from the Young Democracies of South America," Working Papers 361, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    3. Manoel Bittencourt, 2009. "Polarisation, Populism and Hyperinflation[s]: Some Evidence from Latin America," Working Papers 200921, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    4. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2012. "Inflation and economic growth in Latin America: Some panel time-series evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 333-340.
    5. Azevedo, Joao Pedro & David, Antonio C. & Bastos, Fabiano Rodrigues & Pineda, Emilio, 2014. "Fiscal adjustment and income inequality : sub-national evidence from Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6945, The World Bank.
    6. Manoel Bittencourt, 2011. "Is Copacabana Still the ‘Little Princess of the Sea’?," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 12(01), pages 11-16, March.
    7. Manoel F. Meyer Bittencourt, 2006. "Financial Development and Inequality: Brazil 1985-99," Working Papers 26, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    8. Bittencourt, Manoel, 2010. "Democracy, Populism and Hyperinflation[s]: Evidence from Latin America," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Hannover 2010 47, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    9. Manoel Bittencourt, 2014. "Economic Growth and Inequality: Evidence from the Young Democracies of South America," International Symposia in Economic Theory and Econometrics, in: Macroeconomic Analysis and International Finance, volume 23, pages 37-58, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Sintos, Andreas, 2023. "Does inflation worsen income inequality? A meta-analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    11. Binder, Carola, 2019. "Inequality and the inflation tax," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Manoel Bittencourt, 2012. "Democracy, populism and hyperinflation: some evidence from Latin America," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 311-332, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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