Brazilian Definition of Poverty

The ways that Brazilian intellectuals and governmental agencies have defined poverty and its causes have changed over time. Traditionally, the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), created in 1934, has produced censuses and statistics for measuring demography and economic development in Brazil. Macroeconomic indicators, like the gross domestic product (GDP) are broken down to per capita amounts to measure overall poverty. Nonetheless, many have judged generalized statistics ineffective at showing actual poverty or social inequality. Two other methods for measuring poverty in Brazil are the poverty line that defines under what income level an individual can be considered unable to maintain his or her basic nutritional needs, and basket of goods, which defines what basic needs must be met (for example, shelter, nutrition, and ...