Good morning! Productivity increases among Brazilian workers, even amid crisis. Meanwhile, economic activity picks up, though the rich-poor gap is getting wider. And there is the risk of a third Covid wave on the horizon.
Brazilian employed workers seem more productive …
The Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) has launched a new index to measure the productivity of Brazilian workers. With results that may sound counterintuitive, Ipea found a sharp increase in productivity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why it matters. Productivity gains have been less about the improvement of workers, and more about changes to the profile of Brazil’s employed population.
- The crisis has hit the informal economy hard — leaving jobs to more skilled, experienced, and better-educated workers. Who, in general, are much more productive.
By the numbers. The study shows that Brazil’s productivity index grew 2.31 percent a year on average between 2012 and 2021. Part of this is down to an increase in Brazil’s educated population, but the rise also coincides with the country’s two worst economic periods on record — the 2014-2016 crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
- Among Brazilians with college degrees, the number of effective working hours jumped 11.7 percent between 2020 and 2021. ...