Soja e desenvolvimento: uma análise comparativa entre as regiões Norte, Nordeste e Centro-Oeste

Abstract

The recent expansion of soybean in the Brazilian regions, specially in the Amazon, has been the target of national and international debates. The central issue in this debate is the economic, social and environmental impact of soy expansion Some literature studies show that inequalities between the regions in Brazil is an obstacle improve development in the country. This study proposed to verify the behavior of municipalities with and without soy in regions of recent occupation of soybeans in Brazil and evaluate the cities according to the creation of development indices, based on the broad concept of economic development. The study focus on economic and social dimensions in order to conduct a comparative analysis between the regions of recent occupation of soybeans and shows that regional inequalities, especially in the Midwest region with other regions of North and Northeast. Despite the complexity of the object of analysis, most municipalities with soy in the areas of recent occupation of soybean showed better development results, when compared to municipalities without soy. However, such result is not linear and homogeneous. It also suggests public policies to mitigate these inequalities and to improve as a whole the levels of regional development. This study also suggests other studies and projects, which should analyse environmental factors, and exclusion of workers in areas with soybeans.