Soybeans, poverty and inequality in the Brazilian Amazon

Using a mixed-method approach of econometric and ethnographic field research, this article examines the social and economic costs and benefits of increases in soybean production in the Brazilian Amazon. Statistical analysis suggests that increased soy production both reduces poverty indicators and raises median rural incomes, but is also associated with increased measures of inequality. Qualitative fieldwork sheds light on the wider political and social causes and consequences of this increasing inequality, pointing to ethnic differences between large soy farmers and local populations that raise long standing prejudices and tensions.