Reached to its end by the coronavirus pandemic, the worst decade on record in Brazilian economic history interrupted a long trajectory of poverty reduction and exposed the trap that keeps Brazil poor and unequal.
In the last ten years, despite a significant increase of 27% in the years of schooling (from 6.4 to 8.1) of the population in the poorest half, the income from work in this portion dropped 26.2%.
The paradox explains the centrality of economic growth in reducing poverty, since education is seen as the main source of individual income increase. With a lower evolution in education, the richest 50% kept their income unchanged or earned more, according to data from the FGV Social based on the PNADC (National Survey by Continuous Household Sample).
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon