Despite the decline in monetary poverty over the 2000s, the fight against poverty in its multiple dimensions remains a real challenge to Brazilian society. From an income perspective, the progress achieved during this period is well documented in the literature. However, other dimensions of poverty have not been explored in the same depth in empirical studies in Brazil, as few initiatives examine poverty using a multidimensional approach. Due to the significant inequalities within the Brazilian territory, the main aim of this thesis is to analyse the changes in multidimensional poverty in Brazil between 2000 and 2010, comparing the results between rural and urban areas. Based on the microdata of the demographic census, poverty is treated using Amartya Sen's capability approach. The empirical application is carried out in two stages: i) the construction of a multidimensional poverty index; and ii) the spatial analysis of poverty, with municipality as the unit of analysis. The index was built using two methods: i) the Alkire-Foster (AF) method, which has been the most popular worldwide; and ii) the hierarchical model proposed by Permanyer, that identifies poor individuals by means of a poverty profile, as opposed to the simple counting approach of the AF method. Despite the improvement in all indicators, the results reveal that there is a continued disparity between rural and urban areas. There were substantial improvements in access to electricity and durable consumer goods in rural areas, but there are still significant deprivations in sanitation and basic education among the population aged 15 and over. The cross-tabulation of income poverty and multidimensional poverty measures shows the importance of evaluating the joint distribution of deprivations, given that only a proportion of the population is simultaneously poor in both dimensions. The spatial econometric models confirm the research hypotheses: i) the location of the municipality is a relevant variable for poverty reduction: the contribution of household income growth per capita towards the decline in the proportion of poor people was relatively lower in rural microregions; and ii) the pattern of growth affects the variation in poverty, with the services sector being the highest contributor to poverty reduction in rural areas, thus demonstrating the importance of nonfarming incomes in rural development. As the income perspective is still predominant in the empirical literature on poverty in Brazil, this thesis contributes towards providing a broader view of the subject, by considering the joint distribution of deprivations in other dimensions. In the comparison between methods, the hierarchical model improves the AF method of identifying the poor. Finally, the spatial analysis tools allow for a better understanding of the relationship between geographical and sectoral growth patterns and changes in poverty, which is still incipient in the multidimensional approach.

The first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the urgency to "end poverty in all its forms, everywhere" (UN 2019). Although reducing poverty in the income or consumption perspective remains the top priority in the developing world, other fundamental dimensions are also key to a decent life in modern societies, such as health, education, and living conditions. Essentially, poverty alleviation in its multiple dimensions implies overcoming capability deprivation (Sen 1999). We analyse the concepts and dynamics of multidimensional poverty in Brazil, where monetary poverty has markedly decreased over the past decades.Despite overall improvements in socioeconomic indicators since the nineties, poverty alleviation remains a real challenge in Brazil. The World Bank (2020) indicates that the proportion of the population surviving on less than US$1.90 a day (at 2011 purchasing power parity -PPP) dropped from 21.6% in 1990 to 2.7% (5.5 million people) in 2014. Moreover, an economic recession in 2015-2016 reversed the decline of poverty, which reached 4.4% of the population in 2018 (9.2 million people). Based on the international poverty line of US$5.50 a day (2011 PPP), more suitable for upper-middle-income countries, 19.9% of the Brazilian population (41.7 million people) was poor in 2018 (World Bank 2020). The country also experienced meaningful progress in social indicators that are essential for human development, such as literacy and sanitation. The literacy rate of 15-24-year-olds increased from 94.2% in 2000 to 97.5% in 2010, while the proportion of households with poor sanitation 1 dropped from 14.0% to 8.1% (IBGE 2011a).Brazil is also characterised by extreme regional inequalities, which reminds of the differences between developed and developing countries. Deprivations persist and remain substantially larger in rural areas and in the North and North-East regions of the country (IBGE 2011a). Considering a poverty line of a quarter of the minimum wage 2 (just under $2 a day in 2010), 39% of the rural population were poor in 2010, in contrast with 11.5% in the urban areas (IBGE 2011a). Differences between rural and urban areas are also remarkable in terms of other development indicators. One of the most concerning indicators is the illiteracy rate among people aged 15 and above, which ranged from 7.3% in urban areas to 23.2% in rural areas in 2010 (IBGE 2011b).The empirical literature has extensively examined the determinants of the reduction in monetary poverty in Brazil. The main reasons for this progress were economic growth, labour market improvements, real minimum wage rises, expansion of social security and social assistance benefits, both in terms of coverage and value, and macroeconomic stability (Campello and Neri 2014; Ravallion 2011a; World Bank 2016a, 2016b). Helfand and Del Grossi (2009) demonstrated that rural poverty decreased more rapidly than urban poverty between 1995 and 2006, mainly because of social security benefits. showed that ...

ResumoEm função da importância de determinantes ambientais para várias dimensões de pobreza apontada pela literatura e das desigualdades socioeconômicas existentes no Paraná, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar a relação entre pobreza e meio ambiente nos municípios paranaenses. O instrumento de análise é um indicador composto pelas duas temáticas, integradas por meio de análise de regressão, denominado Índice de Pobreza e Meio Ambiente (IPMA). Utilizando indicadores relativos ao tema do saneamento como proxies ambientais, os resultados comprovam o nexo pobreza-meio ambiente e, ao mesmo tempo, mostram diferenças significativas entre os municípios paranaenses. Palavras-chave:Pobreza. Meio ambiente. Índice de Pobreza e Meio Ambiente (IPMA). Paraná. AbstractBecause of the importance of environmental determinants for various dimensions of poverty suggested by the literature and also of the existing socioeconomic inequalities in Parana, the aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between poverty and the environment in the municipalities of Parana. The analysis tool is an indicator composed by these two issues, which are integrated through regression analysis, is named Poverty and Environment Index (IPMA). By using indicators of sanitation as environmental proxies, the results not only confirm the poverty-environment nexus, but also show significant differences between municipalities in Paraná.Keywords: Poverty. Environment. Poverty and Environment Index (IPMA). Paraná. IntroduçãoAs questões ambientais vêm ganhando cada vez mais destaque nos debates internacionais acerca do desenvolvimento. O crescimento econômico acelerado, associado à utilização indiscriminada de recursos naturais e intensificado após a Segunda Guerra Mundial, contribuiu não só para a geração de significativos impactos ambientais adversos, como também para a percepção de que a capacidade de suporte da Terra estava chegando ao seu limite, em função da poluição crescente do ar e da água e da própria exaustão dos recursos naturais.Ao mesmo tempo, observou-se que o progresso econômico do pós-guerra, sem precedentes na história, aconteceu com a manutenção de fortes disparidades socioeconômicas entre países e dentro deles. Segundo os últimos dados disponíveis (UNITED NATIONS, 2012), quase 1,4 bilhão de pessoas nos países em desenvolvimento viviam em pobreza extrema em 2008 (24% da população), com menos de 1,25 dólar por dia. 40 Uma versão ampliada deste artigo foi aceita para publicação pela Revista Planejamento e Políticas Públicas -PPP em 3 ago.2012.