Race, gender, background shape social mobility in Brazil, study finds

The Atlas of Social Mobility released on July 31 reveals race, gender, and family background as the main factors limiting social mobility in Brazil. Conducted by the Institute for Social Mobility and Development (IMDS) in collaboration with the Prospera Lab research group, the survey indicates that race is an even more decisive factor than family background in determining social mobility outcomes.

In the case of young individuals from low-income families, the data paints a stark picture of limited opportunities. Among white youth, only 36.3 percent remain in the same income group as adults, while for non-white individuals, this figure increases to 51.6 percent. In terms of gender, men born into bottom 25 percent income families face a 32.9 percent chance of remaining in the same income stratum as adults, a stark contrast to women, who face a 65.1 percent chance of doing so.

The study also reveals that children of parents in the bottom 25 percent income bracket have a 48 percent chance of remaining in the same group as adults. The likelihood of moving up the income distribution is slim, with just 8.32 percent of children from low-income families moving into the top 25 percent, and a mere 1.28 percent reaching the top 10 percent.

Despite some improvement in social mobility between two generations, the hierarchy of opportunities remains resilient. Children from bottom 25 percent families born between 1983 and 1987 have an 8.8 percent chance of reaching the top 25 percent as adults, a slight increase from 7.9 percent in the previous generation. Middle-income families show a small increase in the probability of moving into the top 25 percent, from 16.6 percent to 18.6 percent.

The Atlas also analyzed social mobility rates across different regions of the country. The South, Southeast, and Central-West regions show the highest probabilities of upward mobility, while the North and Northeast regions, with their persisting poverty issues, exhibit the lowest rates of mobility. The North and Northeast experience the most pronounced persistence of social disadvantages, with children from lower-income families being more likely to remain in the same income group.