In a recent article in the New York Times called ‘To Beat Back Poverty, Pay the Poor’, Tina Rosenberg describes what sounds like a resounding success story:

‘Parts of Brazil look like southern California. Parts of it look like Haiti. Many countries display great wealth side by side with great poverty. But until recently, Brazil was the most unequal country in the world. Today, however, Brazil’s level of economic inequality is dropping at a faster rate than that of almost any other country. Between 2003 and 2009, the income of poor Brazilians has grown seven times as much as the income of rich Brazilians. Poverty has fallen during that time from 22 per cent of the population to 7 per cent.’