Cambridge University Press Growth and Inequality: The Contrasting Trajectories of India and Brazil

Inequality is a global concern, for its social and human consequences, and its impact on the pace and pattern of economic growth. In India and Brazil, this issue has received increasing attention in recent years. In Brazil, inequality grew until the 1980s, when it reached extreme levels, but has since been declining, especially during the first decade of the twenty-first century. In India, inequality showed little change up to the 1980s, but has since been rising. These differences result from a variety of economic, social and political factors, which are examined in depth in this comparative study. The book examines inequality in overall distributions of income and expenditure, and disparities across gender, region, caste, race, and access to education. It compares the experience of the two countries, and draws conclusions on the types of policy frameworks and institutions that might lead to a more equitable pattern of growth. Book Description Examines inequality in overall distributions of income and expenditure, and disparities across gender, region, caste, race, and access to education. About the Author Alexandre Barbosa is Professor of Economic History and International Economics at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His research interests include the study of inequality and the labour market in Brazil, both in the present and in the past; the role of developmentalism in Brazilian economic history; and Brazil's pattern of economic international integration, particularly the impact of the rise of China and the potential of South-South cooperation.Maria Cristina Cacciamali is Professor of Latin American Political Economy, Public Policy and Labour Studies at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is also Senior Researcher of the Brazilian National Research Council in political economy and comparative studies of labour markets, institutions, income distribution and informal economy.Gerry Rodgers is Visiting Professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. He has worked in the fields of poverty, inequality, labour, human resources and employment, especially in India and in Latin America, and has published widely in these fields. His current research is concerned with inclusive development in Bihar, and with the differing experiences of labour market inequality in Brazil and India.