Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/310313 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
University of Göttingen Working Paper in Economics No. 437
Publisher: 
University of Göttingen, Department of Economics, Göttingen
Abstract: 
Building upon the argument that factor endowments influence distributional outcomes, this paper examines the consequences of the China shock to global food markets for economic inequality in Brazilian municipalities from 1985 to 2020. I propose a new identification strategy that exploits plausibly exogenous variation in demand for soybeans based on fluctuations in the size of the pig stock in China and show that the proceeds of this China-driven agricultural bonanza have been rather unequally distributed. The soy boom has fueled land consolidation and economic inequality, especially in places dominated by large-scale mechanized agriculture. Income gains have been mostly limited to the top deciles of the distribution, while the poorest segments of the population have become worse off. Additionally, there is evidence that the more unequal a municipality, the more deforestation and rural conflict increase as soy expands.
Subjects: 
inequality
soybeans
Brazil
China shock
deforestation
conflict
sustainability
supply chains
JEL: 
D63
F63
O13
Q17
Q56
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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