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We are pleased to announce the publication of IPC Working Paper #43, “Is All Socioeconomic Inequality among Racial Groups in Brazil Caused by Racial Discrimination?” The author, Rafael Guerreiro Osorio, an IPC researcher, presents his extensive research on the controversial issue of whether current racial discrimination remains the decisive determinant of the notable and persistent inequalities in socioeconomic conditions between Whites and Blacks in Brazil. In making such an evaluation, he also investigates the importance of other factors, such as region of residence, parental education and household income. His innovative research approach includes following until 2005 the life cycle of an age cohort of Brazilians born during 1973-1977. Among his findings is the discovery that while this cohort, including the Blacks within it, progressively improves its social position vis-à-vis the whole Brazilian population, the Blacks within the cohort remain in the same relative position with regard to the Whites in the cohort as all Blacks do with regard to all Whites in the population at large. Thus, this finding suggests that there has been little evidence of upward social mobility of Blacks in Brazil during the last three decades.

Available online at: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCWorkingPaper43.pdf

For a related IPC publication, see One Pager #27, “Has There Been Any Mobility for Non-Whites in Brazil?”

Directory of Research Centres

We invite you to visit the recently launched website for the IPC’s Directory of Research Centres, which currently covers 540 institutions doing research on poverty, inequality and development in 27 countries in Latin America and 200 institutions in 38 sub-Saharan African countries. This directory is an effort to strengthen links among research centres in developing countries and foster South-South Cooperation on poverty research and training.

· Available at: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/site/CentreSearch.do

Other IPC publications at: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/ipcpublications.htm