Regional inequalities in the State of Sergipe

Abstract

Social indicators in the brazilian Northeast show that, even with the persistent social inequality, there was significant poverty reduction and improvements in education and labor market standards. The indicators also highlight the fact that behind these results, public employment, transfers from social programs and pensions are found. These elements mitigate the perverse effects from a feeble economic structure and from an unsustainable distribution of production means. Therefore, they also influence migration. The objective of this article is to analyze the migratory dynamic at the state of Sergipe, particularly the population flows directed to metropolitan Aracaju. Specifically, this article addresses the inner migration at Sergipe through the sceneries of regional advances and problems – present in the state’s development process for the last three decades. The comparative analysis of occupation and labor income, according to migration status and level of study, informs that such elements still are the main distinguishing characteristics of Aracaju, drawing migrant population from Sergipe’s countryside.