Income inequality and barriers to human capital accumulation in Brazil

Abstract

This paper surveys the recent literature that analyzes the link between income inequality and human capital accumulation. The theoretical models discussed here reach the important conclusion that family background and income inequality indeed constitutes one of the major barriers to the accumulation of human capital, especially in developing countries, and the empirical results presented seem to corroborate this idea. The case of Brazil is very illustrative and gives an alert to governments of developing countries. The analysis suggests that economic development would only be effectively achieved if income inequality could be properly corrected and educational opportunities become better distributed among individuals of a country or region.