Brasília – Expenses of the federal government with social policies rose from 219.7 billion reals (US$ 140 billion) in 1995 to 541.3 billion reals (US$ 345.3 billion) in 2009, growth of 146%, according to a study disclosed on Friday (8) by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea). According to the figures, in 1995, federal social expenses represented 11.24% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil. In 2009, the total reached 15.8%, the highest level in the 15 years of analysis.
According to the Planning and Research technician at the institute, José Aparecido Carlos Ribeiro, the study took into consideration areas like Social Security, health, education, employment and labourer defence and social assistance, as well as sectors like food and nutrition, culture, agrarian development, housing and urbanism and sanitation. “The discussion of social public policies involves quality of life and how that interferes in people’s lives,” said Ribeiro.
He pointed out that, despite the great international financial crisis and despite the economy of Brazil having entered a recession in 2009, federal social spending is still on the rise, despite the maintenance of GDP.
The Ipea explanation is that several social policies were accelerated and intensified as part of the Brazilian reaction to the crisis. The director of Social Policy Studies at the institute, Jorge Abrahão, recalled that the maintenance of the policy for appreciation of the minimum wage, for example, had direct impact on the labour market and on worker income, affecting areas like Social Security and assistance.
The income limits for inclusion in the Family Purse Program were also modified in the period. “These interventions, despite the crisis, allowed for maintenance of the trajectory of expansion of social policies and of the funds that finance them,” according to the document. The study shows that the decision of sustaining these public policies also aids in the economic recovery.
*Translated by Mark Ament
