“Low social mobility in Brazil curbs growth”

The descendants of a Brazilian born among the poorest 10% of the country take, on average, nine generations to reach the median income of society. The data, prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), gives a sample of how difficult it is for poor people to ascend socially in Brazil.

Among the countries in the survey, Brazil is second only to Colombia. In Argentina, it takes six generations to go the same way, in Canada, four, and in Denmark, two.

He says that part of the Brazilian elite is responsible for maintaining low social mobility in the country, as it values competition very little and specializes in extracting wealth from the state using its political power. “For them, productivity and social mobility are irrelevant,” he says.