Inequality and the labour market: comparing India and Brazil

This article, which draws on a collaborative research project between institutes in India and Brazil, examines the patterns of inequality in the two countries, and their relationship with economic development. In Brazil inequality rose in the period up to the 1980s, but has since been falling; in India, inequality was stable or falling slightly until the 1980s, but has since been rising. The article discusses some of the sources of these long term trends, with particular reference to the growth regimes and labour markets in each country. It considers the role of social, political and economic forces and institutions in Brazil and India during different periods of time, and the influence of labour market structures and relationships. The article concludes by comparing the ways in which state interventions try to reduce inequality in each country, notably through income transfers, employment creation and labour market policies. © 2016, Indian Society of Labour Economics.