Centro de Políticas Sociais

This paper analysis the impacts of Brazilian macroeconomic developments during the 1990´s on labor market and social indicators. Special emphasis is given to the period marked by the adverse effects of external shocks such as the Asian crisis of 1997, the Russian crisis of 1998 and the Brazilian devaluation crisis of 1999. Our main conclusion is that the description of the social impacts of these crisis does not fit a single story. We show that the plot of the main stories observed depend on at least three dimensions: i) Who was affected by the shocks? that is to what extend the crisis affected more the Brazilian elite or those initially situated below the poverty line? ii) What? to what extend the crisis affected labor income vis a vis other income sources such as government transfers, social security benefits and capital income. iii) Where? was the social crisis more acute in rural areas and small cities or in the core of metropolitan areas.