Brazil's growing consumer class

Overview

Brazil is often cited for its dismal income distribution and social inequalities. Although there is still a wide gap between the rich and the poor, consumption levels of poorer Brazilians are rising sharply. Mobile telephones, frost-free refrigerators, color televisions and automobiles once out of reach for lower class Brazilians are increasingly common in all homes.

The underlying causes of buoyant consumption are economic stabilisation and lower interest rates, while the immediate...