Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados n. 21 Rio de Janeiro 1979
Abstract
This article seeks to make a contribution toward the clarification of controversy about income distribution in Brazil, by outlining its evolution, commenting on the limitations of economic policy suggestions now under consideration, presenting recent data and evaluating the present stage of the controversy within -the context of the delicate situation in which Brazilian the economy and society now find themselves. The article insists on the necessity of distinguishing four dimensions of the controversy: the theoretical dimension, the empirical dimension, the economic policy dimension and the specifically political dimension of the question. Corresponding to each of these is a separate world of discussion (and of concrete experience ). By means of a rapid summary of the income distribution controversy's development in Brazil, the author seeks to show the distinction between these dimensions helps to clarify the debate - and pose questions for the future. Recent data - for 1976 - are used, despite the fact that they are not directly comparable with the 1970 data, to form a picture that suggests that ·concentration is increasing, which was not expected by official interpretations at the beginning of the decade. As a result, the economic policy suggestions which have emerged in the past few years are briefly listed and discussed, not in regard to details but in regard to their relationships with inequality reproduction mechanisms and with absolute poverty - over time. The article concludes with reflections on the current Brazilian economic situation and with a critique of the false technocratic position which tends to distinguish between "social" problems (like income distribution) and "technical" problems (like inflation and balance of payments disequilibria). This position when it is not politically checked - tends to relegate the so-called social problems to a secondary position whenever the so-called technical problems
Distribuição de Renda e Desenvolvimento: Novas Evidências e uma Tentativa de Clarificação da Controvérsia no Brasil
Português do Brasil
Español