University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Uncertainty and Inequality: The Case of Northeast Brazil

Sarmento, Osvaldo De Moraes

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Description

Title
Uncertainty and Inequality: The Case of Northeast Brazil
Author(s)
Sarmento, Osvaldo De Moraes
Issue Date
1980
Department of Study
Economics
Discipline
Economics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Economics, General
Language
eng
Abstract
  • This study addresses four problems. First, it identifies some of the most important variables which cause inequalities within a socioeconomic system among its economic agents and among its several regions. Second, it develops a model for the purpose of analyzing inequalities. Third, it applies the model to interpret the past and present economic situation of Northeast Brazil. Finally, it considers certain policies aimed at the elimination of inequalities between the two polar regions in Brazil, that is, the Northeast and Southeast.
  • The study focuses primarily on the combined effects of uncertainty and risk-aversion on the economic behavior of the individuals and concludes that these variables are an important source of economic inequality. The analysis is carried through on the assumption that the individual will choose his level of economic activity so as to maximize his Von Neumann utility function. This utility function is concave, and furthermore it presents a non-increasing Arrow-Pratt measure of absolute risk-aversion.
  • In addition to the usual economic variables, the study considers also certain socio-political variables which in many cases may magnify the effects of economic variables on wealth distribution. Thus, the analysis as a whole may be thought of as a blend of the theory of uncertainty--which is a generalization of the well-established neoclassical approach to the decision-making process--and of institutional variables not commonly found in orthodox economics.
Graduation Semester
1980
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/67675

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