The 1988 constitution and access to social security in rural Brazil: towards universalisation

Kaizo Beltrao, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE)
Sonoe Sugahara, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA)
Fernanda Peyneau, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA)
João Luiz Mendonça, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA)

The paper analyses the Brazilian rural population with respect to labour force participation, social insurance and assistance in over a decade (1988 - 2002), focusing on constitutional changes and on gender differences. The 1988 Constitution defined new rules with respect to eligibility conditions (lower eligibility age for the rural males) and benefit values for this population with major changes for the female population. We compare, by gender and individual age, activity rates and probability of receiving benefits along the period. Before 1988 only the head of household was eligible for a pension benefit; nowadays all workers including the husband and the wife in a single family are eligible. Somehow, the new legislation affected family patterns and the empty nest of yesteryears now incorporates not only sons and daughters but grandchildren as well. Therefore, the paper also compares family structure and the importance of elderly income in the family budget.