Ensaios sobre convergência, crescimento econômico e desigualdade entre os estados brasileiros

Abstract

This thesis provides a multidimensional view of the convergence for the Brazilian context. The first essay analyzes σ- and β-convergence of per capita income among Brazilian states in the period from 2001 to 2014. It is important to accentuate that a set of models is estimated in a comparative framework in order to follow the most recent methodology for the dynamic equations. The empirical results indicate the presence of both types of convergence (σ and β) among the states in the analyzed period. The speed of convergence is greater once the models control for specific factors of each state, ranging from 1.7% in the absolute version to 2.8% in the conditional version, which corroborates the relevance of a conditional convergence process. In addition, there is empirical evidence that current expenditures, financial aid from the federal government through a “state participation fund” and fertility negatively affect economic growth in this model. The second essay analyzes the concept of social convergence (σ and β) among the states for the period from 1990 to 2010, using traditional and spatial econometric techniques for panel data. In most studies, economic growth is typically measured by the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thus, this indicator is often analyzed as a proxy for the social welfare of the inhabitants of a region. However, is economic growth really in line with human development? Does social convergence occur simultaneously to the income convergence? This essay seeks to fill this gap by analyzing convergence of variables that refer to conditions of life and welfare of the population in the context of the Brazilian states. Life expectancy at birth, literacy, mean years of schooling, infant survival rate, fertility rate, crime, GDP per capita and household income per capita are used as indicators here. In the scenario established through social and economic variables, the empirical evidence shows that economic convergence is accompanied by social convergence, with a peculiar behavior of non-murder and fertility rate variables.