Social capital and poverty in Brazil

ABSTRACT The article analyzes the impact of social capital on income and poverty reduction in Brazil. Through the main components technique and based on the World Values Survey, a social capital index was constructed considering three categories of indicators: participation in organizations/associations; density of the partner and trust in people. It was concluded that in addition to social capital contributing positively with income, its impact is greater than the impacts caused, for example, by the fact that the individual is employed, married or white. In addition, the lower the income scale, the greater the impact of social capital on income generation and consequently on poverty reduction.