This essay argues that understanding the economic structure and dynamics of favelas is crucial in shaping public policies that reduce poverty and generate higher levels of human-capability attainment for all Brazilians. There is at present no settled model of the favela economy, or even agreement among economists about how favelas fit into the broader urban economy. Nor has an agreed model of low-income or segregated minority communities in other countries been developed. Nor could this article set out an approach to the economy of the favela on which all observers and analysts would agree. Given this point of departure, this paper seeks to provoke debate and dialogue about how the economy of the favela should be seen, and about how favelas fit into the broader economic dynamics of the cities and regions in which they exist. The idea is not to settle debate, but to start it. Consequently, a variety of approaches to favelas – ways of “seeing” them – are set out here, without resolving which is most accurate or most useful. The different ways of “seeing” favelas illuminate the conflicting interests at work, interests that imagine different futures for the people and the land occupied by favelas today. In the absence of any debate about these views and the futures they imply, empowered economic and political interests will grind out futures for favelas and those who live there now without any consideration of the public interest and the rights of their residents.

background

Average propensity to spend inside the ghetto areas: a comment

Ten ways to see a favela: Notes on the political economy of the new city

More on ghetto multipliers

incorporate a negative income tax and aim to increase work incentives and eliminate inequities by providing a uniform minimum income for all people in the country. The Family Assistance Plan (FAP) proposed by the present administration purports to be such a plan, although critics find several shortcomings and failures also associated with it. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible short-run effects of an income maintenance plan such as FAP on the economies of different communities in this country. Both the legislative and executive branches of the government

Average propensity to spend inside the ghetto areas: a comment

Citations

Ten ways to see a favela: Notes on the political economy of the new city

More on ghetto multipliers

Effects of Income Maintenance On the Economies of Communities: A Theoretical Exploration

References

Ghetto multipliers: a case study of hough*

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