Doctoral Dissertation Research: Developmental Trajectories: A Comparative-Historical Analysis

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

SES-0824130 Patrick Heller Christopher Gibson Brown University Brazil in the 20th century was among the most unequal - and persistently unequal - societies in world history. Over the long run, how, when, and why did Brazil became so persistently unequal in its social and economic development? This project first documents a new dimension of Brazilian inequality by showing that Brazil's states generally maintained their levels of economic and social development relative to one another throughout most of the 20th century. Through a comparative historical analysis of Brazilian states, the co-PI will use archives and regional and local histories to test five hypotheses about potential long-run causes of this inequality, including the extent of Portuguese colonial penetration by 1650, the intensity of slavery by 1650 and by 1888, the presence of labor-intensive estates after 1700, the intensity of tropical export agriculture after 1700, and liberal or conservative control of provincial governments after the mid 19th century. Initial research suggests that an overlooked variable drove Brazilian social and economic inequality: control of the sub-national state and its precursors by different class configurations. The study will contribute a detailed and comprehensive study of the Brazilian case to the evolving theoretical framework in sociology on legacies of colonialism. Broader impacts of the study include: 1) enhanced multidisciplinary collaborations for future research; and 2) broad dissemination of findings to lay, policy, and academic audiences. First, the project will build and deepen multidisciplinary collaborations with social scientists and historians of Brazil by participating in multi- and interdisciplinary conferences, workshops, and research partnerships. Second, findings will be disseminated broadly to academic, policy, and lay audiences, contributing a more robust empirical understanding of the differential historical trajectories of inequality in different regions of Brazil.