The purpose of the note is to inform the design of policies and instruments that can enhance labor market outcomes of Brazil's poor and vulnerable populations. Global and regional experiences show that active labor market programs, and more broadly economic inclusion interventions, both at the...

In November 2019, the Brazilian government introduced, as part of an employment stimulus package, the Contrato Verde Amarelo (CVA), a wage subsidy program for young first-time employees entering in contracts of up to 1.5 minimum wages. Despite CVA did not pass the final senate vote and,...

Can rising tides in the labor market lift the poor out of social assistance Although a substantial literature has studied the capacity of safety nets to expand automatically during labor market shocks, less is known about the dynamics of social assistance when labor market conditions improve,...

With the advent of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Brazil has come out with one of the fastest and most generous social protection responses globally. Auxilio Emergencial (AE's) operation is in contrast to that of regular social protection programs due to its highly centralized setup with...

The Auxilio Emergencial (AE) was one of the most agile, robust, and extensive social protection programs implemented by developing countries. Having reached up to 55.6 percent of the population, considering both direct and indirect beneficiaries, the program has shown impacts in improving the...

This paper documents an inverse U-shape in the evolution of wage inequality in Latin America since 1995, with a sharp reduction starting in 2002. The Gini coefficient of wages increased from 42 to 44 between 1995 and 2002 and declined to 39 by 2015. Between 2002 and 2015, the 90/10 log hourly...

This paper examines whether export participation matters for job training. The paper draws on longitudinal worker-firm data for Brazilian manufacturing, linked with detailed records on training activity from the main provider. The analysis uses industry-specific exchange rate movements to...