Case Study: Economic Development

Status of Brazil
1
Usman Hans Stephen N. Alauya, 2 Nazer Niko F. Dela Calzada, 3 Hanna Rolish J. Digamon, 4Johnese S.
Ferrer, 5 Dale Roberts G. Lacre, 6 Jan Albert N. Mercado, 7 Apple Mae E. Platil, 8 Ej Abrielle G. Tagayon,

I. Economic Growth Indicator of Brazil

Economic Growth Indicators
An economic indicator is a piece of data that analysts use to analyze existing or potential
investment opportunities. These data are often of a macroeconomic scale. The general health
of an economy can also be determined using these measures.

A. Income Per Capita and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The amount of money made per person in a country or region is expressed as per
capita income. The average per-person income for a region is calculated using per capita
income, which is also used to assess the population's standard of living and quality of life.
In 2011, Brazil was under a quarter well of the United States for having a per capita
income of $11,000. During the prime years of Brazil, 1965-1990, gross domestic product
(GDP) per capita was 1.4% and for 1990-2000, when it was 1.5%. The GDP per capita
appeared to suggest remarkable stability. The average annual income per capita in 2000-
2011 rose to 2.8%.
Brazil made significant progress during the years 1960-1980. However, the growth
of this country has been unpredictable. The manufactured exports grew dramatically
reaching 57% in 1980 and also regressed dramatically falling to just 34% in 2011. This
made the economy of Brazil vulnerable as the commodities prices increased. The overall
tax burdened as well as it increased from 25% gross national income to 40% from 1993
to 2004 which also took 8 years to level off down to 38% in 2012.
The article stresses that significant swings in economic performance have
persisted despite these various growth rates during particular time periods. As an
illustration, growth increased noticeably by about 7% in 2010, then slowed to almost a
stop by the end of 2012.
 Taking into account all of these, the aforementioned indicator was not a huge help
to the nation's economic development. Brazil must therefore address the issue of the
government's arbitrary allocation of resources to the highest earners as this is a major
cause of income inequality in the nation.

B. Human Development Index

An index that gauges important aspects of human development is called the
Human Development Index (HDI). A long and healthy life, access to education, and a
respectable level of living are the three main dimensions.
The UNDP emphasized Brazil's "rapid advance" over the course of 20 years, going
from low human development (0.590) in 1990 to medium development (0.669) in 2000 to
high human development (0.726) in 2010. The life expectancy at birth in Brazil was 73
years in 2011. This country’s mortality rate had an impressive improvement from 36 per
live births in 2000 to 16 live births in 2011. Additionally, the literacy rate has increased to
90% from being concluded that Brazil’s effective literacy rate was under 50%.
However, Brazil still has a number of urgent issues that affect its HDI rating despite
these encouraging advances. This country suffered from a high incidence of child labor
for its income level. The International Labor Office reported that as many as 7 million
children were in labor because of poverty. In Brazil, there were still 7% of children under
5 who were malnourished. Moreover, the literacy rate in Brazil foresaw a danger for the
next few years because of the unequal distribution of social spending especially on the
allocation of public schools.
This indicator did not help the economic growth of Brazil as it burdened and slowed
the progress to the betterment of the country.

C. Poverty
When people or communities are deprived of the means of subsistence, they are
said to be in a state or condition known as poverty. Their fundamental human needs
cannot be satisfied. Poverty has been high in Brazil for an upper-middle-income country.
There has been great progress during the years 1960 to 1980 because the World Bank
study found that Brazil’s average per income capita grew by 220% with a 34% decline in
the share of the poor population until Brazil was subsequently lost in the 1980s and 1990s.
World Bank estimated that some 10.8% of the population of Brazil lived on less
than 2$ per day in 2009. An even more shocking 15% of Brazilians have incomes of less
than $1 a day.
 This phenomenon urged the government to create the Bolsa Familia (family
stipend) government program to bring down poverty. Using "conditional cash transfers,"
this initiative offers financial assistance resources to low-income families with the
condition that they keep their kids in school and immunized. This strategy has been
proven effective in tackling poverty.
The shift in the income distribution brought on by economic expansion will also
affect how well average growth reduces poverty. When market flaws (such as market
failures, incomplete or uncompetitive markets, investment indiscriminabilities, fixed costs,
and strategic complementarities) come together with these factors and other factors,
poverty can be a drag on economic progress.

D. Land Reforms and Sustainability

Unequal land distribution has been a prevailing problem in Brazil. However, the
political influence of large plantation owners, or "fazenderos," has consistently prevented
land reform in Brazil. As a result, poor farmers in the "landless movement," or MST, have
taken control of more and more land, including productive but underutilized property
within big estates. Poor farmers resorted to locations with endangered rainforests, finding
them unable to purchase land in more ecologically sound and agriculturally viable places.
However, there are drawbacks to this strategy because the richest and most
powerful farmers frequently hold the most productive fields in these areas. Once
rainforests are destroyed, it is difficult to reverse the damage. Other tropical rainforests
have experienced a quick increase in ecotourism and profitable, sustainable fruit
production as a result of good forest management.
Brazilians across the political spectrum seem adamant about to recognise forest
destruction as a real problem or an urgent issue. Brazilian forests are being cut down.
Amazon rain forest problems between short and long-term development objectives and
their effects of extreme inequality and government interference in favor of the wealthy.
Despite the damage they cause, The Amazon's economic activity frequently saw benefits
in the past from misguided subsidies, which are now limited.
Sustainable development, which protects the environment, contrasts with growth
that depends on destroying it. The ecological, which is essential to both human health
and future income.Brazilian economic growth has been limited by land reform and
sustainability. However, as stated in the case study, large-scale optimization of these
indicators was done.
 E. Social Indicators
Brazilian data on human development are compared favorably to many other
middle-income nations including Costa Rica and many low-income countries, much less
those that are highly industrialized countries. Brazil's position in 2007 was barely 85th on
the website of the United Nations Development Program Human Development Index for
2013. It has good statistics on life expectancy, adult literacy, and per capita income as
aforementioned above. Yet, in terms of inequality and social inclusion, Brazil fell down in
addressing these problems.
Inequality towards the mulattos or black people in Brazil is a complex problem with
wide-ranging social and economic effects. It highlights the essential need to resolve these
inequities in order to promote economic growth and development as well as social justice.
The stark difference in pay between Black and White workers in Brazil is one of the most
obvious examples of racial inequality. Black workers make 41% less money than their
white counterparts do on average. In addition, most of the population residing in the
favelas are black.
Even in states where non-whites make up the majority of the population, there is
astonishingly little black representation in the administration. The only way to start
overcoming the issue may be by some kind of significant positive action.

II. Assess the economic development of Brazil using the following concept:
A. Three Core Values of Development
Sustenance
According to data from recent research, 6.1% of people in Brazil lived in extreme
poverty, earning less than $1.25 per day (World Bank, 2013 World Development
Indicators), which is worse than the situation in several low-income nations like Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, an even more frightening 15% of Brazilians, according to a government
research organization quoted by the United Nations Development Programme, live on
less than $1 per day. Given their current situation, Brazil’s sustenance or its residents'
capacity to meet necessities like food, shelter, health care, and security is limited.
Basically, they can only afford basic necessities like food and water consumption because
they don't have enough money to pay for additional costs like housing, healthcare,
education, or security. This explains why child labor is common, the poorest four fifths of
the population do not attend secondary school at all, and barely any of them graduate
from universities, and physical security remains a pressing problem. The extreme poverty
 in the nation, which feeds a cycle of inequality and limits opportunities for its citizens to
enhance their quality of life, hinders the country's overall development. However, Brazil
has also created social programs like Bolsa Familia, a conditional cash benefit that targets
the poorest families with the intention of eliminating poverty and inequality and
contributing to the overall development and growth of Brazil.

Self-esteem
Self-esteem is the satisfaction or value of a person to have the capacity to continue
doing something for their liberty. In the case of Brazil, the self-esteem of the people is low
due to the high inequality of lower income groups to the higher ones, which led to high
levels of extreme poverty. It hinders economic development as such circumstances
lowers a person’s self-esteem as they are treated unjustly or poorly. Consequently, the
Bolsa Familia and other social program innovations are identified to serve as a
contribution to economic development.

Freedom
Trade freedom, tax burden, and judicial efficacy are measured by an index of
economic freedom. In Brazil, people are forced to labor because of overall tax increased
and affected the everyday living of the citizens in this country. They eventually become
unable to fully contribute to Brazil's economic progress as a result of this lack of
independence. Economic inequality has significantly increased in Brazil. More work must
be done to raise educational standards, give underprivileged pupils greater educational
chances, and link curricula with market demands if this problem is to be solved. This can
be done through programs that offer pertinent vocational training and skill-development
opportunities, thereby building a more inclusive and successful community.
In conclusion, these fundamental principles are interrelated and influence Brazil's
strategy for economic growth. The government and civil society are still working to raise
the standard of living, self-esteem, and freedom for all Brazilians as part of their overall
economic development initiatives, despite the fact that problems still exist in many
regions. They eventually become unable to fully contribute to Brazil's economic progress
as a result of this lack of independence.
B. Amartya Sen’s “Capability” Approach

Personal Heterogeneities
In the year 2011, life expectancy in Brazil used to be 73 years old and under-5
mortality rate was 16 per 1,000 live births which is an improvement from the 2,000 rate of
36 per 1,000 but still high compared with 10 similar income Costa Rica and just 5 in Korea.
Although 7% of children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition.

Environmental Diversities
Brazil experiences equatorial, tropical as well as sub-tropical climates. Due to the
country's climate and their agricultural advancements the country is viewed as being at
the cutting edge of agricultural research and extension in commercially successful export
crops such as citrus and soybeans.

Variation in Social Climate

In Brazil, it is stated that physical security still remains a big problem and they still
have a recurring problem with gangs, especially in the slums. This means crimes often
happen. Gangs can be a significant disparity to economic development in many ways
thus it needs to be dealt with more.

Distribution within the Family

Due to poverty Brazil has an ongoing problem concerning child labour. . As many
as 7 million children still work in Brazil, despite the country’s having officially made the
eradication of child labor a priority. Due to the immense poverty and the lack of
intervention children are forced to work, this may also be because of the negligence of
the application of law.

Difference in relational perspective

Inequality is a great problem in Brazil as the disparity between the rich and poor is
so large it makes living in the community difficult for certain families. For decades, Brazil’s
inequality in income (as well as in land and other assets) has ranked among the worst in
the world. The degree of income inequality in Brazil is reflected in the low share of income
going to the bottom 60% and the high share to the top 10%
 Brazil is a country with many problems, it is plagued by poverty, severe inequality,
Violence, and, etc but this does not necessarily mean that Brazil is a bad country and will
not develop economically. The country should be able to provide more to its citizens so
as to slowly but surely solve these problems for the public is entitled to quality education,
health care, and a safer and better environment to live in.

References
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