Search

Os programas de transferência de renda são considerados políticas públicas importantes para a diminuição da pobreza no Brasil. No entanto, alguns críticos argumentam que esses programas são ineficazes em função de grande parte dos recursos não serem destinados aos verdadeiramente pobres ou porque geram o fenômeno da armadilha da pobreza. Este artigo analisa se os resultados desses programas obtiveram êxito no combate a pobreza, controlando por outros determinantes tais como crescimento econômico, desigualdade de renda, anos médio de estudo, proporção de famílias chefiadas por mulheres e taxa de desemprego masculino para os estados brasileiros, no período de 2000 a 2008. Um modelo para dados em painel dinâmico, estimado pelo método de momentos generalizados-sistema (MMG-S) em dois passos, desenvolvido por Arellano e Bond (1991) e Blundell e Bond (1998), detectou, entre outras conclusões, uma relação não significante entre transferências de renda e pobreza. Os resultados, portanto, suportam as críticas de que esses programas não têm efeito esperado sobre a pobreza no Brasil. The widespread view that income transfers help to reduce the incidence of poverty has been asserted by many policymakers and citizens who support income transfer programs in Brazil. Nevertheless, a number of analysts contend that such programs are in fact ineffective in reducing poverty, because only a small share of the income that is transferred actually reaches the poor, or because such programs create a poverty trap. This article peruses this issue investigating the relationship between poverty and government income transfer in Brazil, over the period 2000-2008, controlling for other relevant variables that may affect poverty such as economic growth, inequality, education, unemployment and the number of female-headed families. Results from dynamic panel data models, proposed by Arellano e Bond (1991) and Blundell e Bond (1998), indicate that poverty is not affected by government income transfers, which support the critic view that income transfer programs in Brazil do not have the expect effect on poverty. Among other findings, education and inequality play an important role in the recent poverty dynamics in Brazil.

This note discusses the contradiction between β and σ- convergence tests of agricultural per capita GDP, which was recently presented by Spohr and Freitas (RESR, vol. 49, No. 02, p. 341-368, April / June 2011). While the first type of test supports the hypothesis of convergence, the σ- convergence test does not validate this hypothesis. It is argued that this contradiction probably arises from nonlinearities in the convergence process, which can characterize the formation of convergence clubs. The convergence test was done again in a more rigorous way, according to the methodology proposed by Caselli, Eesquivel and Lefort (1996) and, subsequently, the formation of convergence clubs is tested using the methodology proposed in Phillips and Sul (2007), which has the advantage of accommodating various types of heterogeneity. The formation of three convergence clubs is confirmed and these results try to clarify the contradiction previously reported.

This note discusses the contradiction between β and σ- convergence tests of agricultural per capita GDP, which was recently presented by Spohr and Freitas (RESR, vol. 49, No. 02, p. 341-368, April / June 2011). While the first type of test supports the hypothesis of convergence, the σ- convergence test does not validate this hypothesis. It is argued that this contradiction probably arises from nonlinearities in the convergence process, which can characterize the formation of convergence clubs. The convergence test was done again in a more rigorous way, according to the methodology proposed by Caselli, Eesquivel and Lefort (1996) and, subsequently, the formation of convergence clubs is tested using the methodology proposed in Phillips and Sul (2007), which has the advantage of accommodating various types of heterogeneity. The formation of three convergence clubs is confirmed and these results try to clarify the contradiction previously reported.