As mudanças que vêm ocorrendo no emprego público no Brasil acarretam diversos custos para os trabalhadores que saem desse setor. Neste trabalho investigamos a magnitude da perda salarial que os trabalhadores realocados do setor público para o privado podem experimentar. Utilizando os microdados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (Pnad/IBGE) de 1995, calculamos os hiatos salariais bruto e controlado entre esses setores. Os resultados obtidos mostram que esses hiatos salariais são relativamente altos, embora significativamente menores quando utilizamos a segunda medida. Essa última constatação indica a existência de diferenças na composição da força de trabalho entre os dois setores. De fato, os trabalhadores empregados no setor público tendem a ser em média mais escolarizados, mais velhos e possuírem maior tempo de experiência no trabalho do que os trabalhadores empregados no setor privado. Outra constatação importante é a presença de uma significativa heterogeneidade dentro do setor público: o hiato salarial é maior para os empregados na esfera federal, decrescendo para os níveis estadual e municipal.

Recent changes in public employment in Brazil generate costs to workers that leave this sector. In this study we investigate the wage loss that leaving public employees may experience if they were absorbed by the private sector. Using microdata from the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios of 1995, we calculate the gross and controlled wage gaps between the two sectors. The results show that both wage gaps are relatively high, although significantly lower for the second measure. The latter indicates the presence of important differences in the composition of the labor force between the two sectors. In fact, public employees tend to be on average better educated, older and have longer tenure than the workers in the private sector. Also, the study shows that there is a significant heterogeneity within the public sector: the wage gap is higher for federal public employees, decreasing for the state and municipal levels.

O artigo procura descrever a evolução recente da magnitude e da natureza da pobreza e da desigualdade no Brasil, estabelecendo inter-relações causais entre estas dimensões. Nosso diagnóstico central é que o Brasil não é um país pobre, mas um país injusto e desigual, com muitos pobres. A desigualdade na distribuição da renda e das oportunidades de inclusão econômica e social representa o principal determinante dos elevados níveis de pobreza que afligem a sociedade brasileira. Pretendemos, ainda, demonstrar a viabilidade econômica do combate à pobreza e justificar a importância de estabelecermos estratégias que não descartem a via do crescimento econômico, mas que enfatizem, sobretudo, o papel de políticas redistributivas que enfrentem a desigualdade.

The article aims to describe the recent evolution of the level and the nature of poverty and inequality in Brazil, establishing causal relations between those dimensions. Its central diagnosis is that Brazil is not a poor country, in terms of resources, but it is an unfair and unequal country, with high level of poverty. The inequality in income distribution and in the opportunities of economic and social inclusion represent the main determinant of higher levels of poverty that worry Brazilian society. It also aims to demonstrate economic viability to fight against poverty and justify the significance of establishing strategies that doesn't discard economic growth, but that emphasize, mainly, the role of redistributive policies that may decrease inequality levels.

L'article tente de décrire l'évolution récente de la dimension et de la nature de la pauvreté et de l'inégalité au Brésil, en établissant des liens de cause à effet entre ces dimensions. Le diagnostic central est le suivant: le Brésil n'est pas un pays pauvre, mais un pays injuste et inégal, qui compte beaucoup de pauvres. L'inégalité dans la distribution de la rente et des opportunités d'inclusion économique et sociale représente le principal facteur déterminant des indices élevés de pauvreté qui affligent la société brésilienne. Les auteurs prétendons, par ailleurs, démontrer la viabilité économique du combat contre la pauvreté et justifier l'importance de l'établissement de stratégies qui n'excluent pas la voie de la croissance économique, mais, surtout, qui mettent en valeur le rôle des politiques redistributives qui affrontent l'inégalité.

The article investigates the role the service sector played in job creation in Brazil during the 1977-90. Special attention is focused on what are known as personal services (community services, repairs, food and lodging, cleaning, and household services), which are considered the least attractive in terms of job quality. Firstly, results show that the proportion of the work force employed within the service sector was similar to that employed by the manufacturing and civil construction sectors together. Secondly, the number of jobs in personal services grew in both absolute and relative terms, surpassing rates for the other two sectors, while in relation to other service sectors, personal services displayed lower rates in both absolute and relative terms. Lastly, the personal services sector enjoyed systematic expansion within the urban labor market, while its participation within the service sector overall declined slightly.

Dans cet article on cherche d’abord à savoir quel rôle le secteur des services a joué dans la création des postes de travail au Brésil pendant les années 1977-1990. On examine attentivement cinq segments qui forment ce secteur (nommés dans l’ensemble "services personnels") considérés comme les plus précaires du point de vue de la qualité des postes de travail créés; ce sont les services communautaires, de réparations, d’accueil et d’alimentation, de nettoyage et de tâches ménagères. Les résultats révèlent d’abord que ce secteur embauche un effectif de personnel équivalant à la fois à celui de l’industrie de transformation et du bâtiment. Par ailleurs, le nombre de ces postes de travail est en expansion, en valeurs absolues et relatives, avec des taux supérieurs à ceux de l’industrie de transformation et de l’industrie du bâtiment, mais avec des taux inférieurs, en valeurs absolues, et égaux, en valeurs relatives, à ceux des services restant. Enfin, le poids du secteur "services personnels" a progressé de façon systématique dans l’emploi urbain, tandis qu’il tend à diminuer dans l’ensemble du secteur des services.