Different Worlds of Welfare in a Heterogeneous Country: The Brazilian Case

Helena Cruz Castanheira, University of Pennsylvania
Eduardo L. G. Rios-Neto, Cedeplar, UFMG

This paper applies a typology derived from the technique Grade of Membership (GOM) to estimate latent profiles of social policies and family structure among Brazilian individuals in a 2008-2009 Survey. It draws on Esping-Andersen's framework to the analysis of welfare state regimes, but it incorporates the context of a heterogeneous country with high income inequality and truncation of coverage of social policies in the areas of health, education, and social security. Four latent profiles were identified in each age group (0-5, 6-17, 18-24, 25-59 and 60 or more). The results show that social coverage, the public and market divide, and income inequality interact with the individuals' life cycle to display a complex web of coverage (and lack of coverage) of the relevant social risks. The paper shows the relevance of Esping-Andersen's typology, but also the need to complement it with other measures suited to a society that is highly unequal.