EMERGENCY AID AND ITS IMPACT ON REDUCING INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

Abstract

This paper aimed to analyze the magnitude of the Auxílio Emergencial (Emergency Aid) as a targeted income transfer policy that sought to assist the less privileged individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through complementary statistical and graphical analyses, and using the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD-COVID) of June 2020 as a database, it was observed that: (i) Auxílio Emergencial benefited 49.5% of the Brazilian population; (ii) Auxílio Emergencial contributed to the reduction of extreme poverty and income inequality (reduction of Gini and p95/p5 ratio by more than 70%); (iii) Poorer states had greater results reinforcing the distributive nature of the AE transfer. Given that the effects of the pandemic will not cease in the short term, the need for continuity of Auxílio Emergencial or any other income program that is similar to a minimum basic income Program, with the expansion of its coverage, thus allowing the maintenance of a social and assistance policy focused on the less favoured people.