The stability of income inequality in Brazil, 2006-2012: an estimate using income tax data and household surveys

Top income shares and inequality in Brazil, 1928-2012

“…The shorter series covers the period from 2006 to 2012 using data from Castro (2014) and Medeiros, Souza and Castro (2015a). This series was combined with survey data using the methodology of Medeiros, Souza and Castro (2015b) The longer series covers the period from 1928 to 2012, refining and updating the estimates provided by Souza (2014). Some methodological aspects of this series deserve further comment.…”

“…First, we expand the analysis undertaken by Medeiros, Souza and Castro (2015b) and show that the apparent decline in the Gini coefficient recorded by surveys in 2006-2012 vanishes once we correct for the underestimation of top incomes. Second, we present preliminary estimates of the income share of the top 1% since 1928, expanding and refining the results first provided by Souza (2014).…”

“…They detect changes in inequality between income classes, but not within classes. However, by using the methodology of Medeiros, Souza and Castro (2015b) we combined tax and survey data and calculated Gini coefficients for each year between 2006 and 2012, which take into account inequality between and within classes. To maintain comparability with previous studies, we defined as adults those aged 18 or more years.…”

“…In the 1970's, Alves (1971), Kingston and Kingston (1972), Langoni (1973) and Gonçalves (1976) used tax data to analyze the concentration of income at the top of the distribution between 1960and 1970and Gibbon (1978, 1979 to study mobility at the top of the distribution between 1970 and 1975. Beginning in the 1990s, research on the rich in Brazil boomed, using both survey and tax data (Albuquerque, 1994;Castro, 2014;Dedecca, 2014;Ferreira, 2001;Medeiros, 2004Medeiros, , 2005Medeiros, Souza, & Castro, 2014a, 2014b, 2015aMedeiros et al, 2015b;Medeiros, Souza, & Castro, 2015c;Souza, 2014;Torche & Costa-Ribeiro, 2012).…”

Conception of the Right to Health of Mid-Level Technical Professionals of Unified Health System In Brazil

“…However, it is true that a quarter of Brazil's total income is concentrated in 1% of the Brazilian adult population, leading to a situation in which "one thousandth of the population accumulates more income than the half of the poorest population" 8 .…”