14This decomposition is similar to one based upon the single-parameter entropy family of indices discussed above, except for an overlapping component in addition to the between and within components.
15On the reducing gap in illiteracy, see Nagarajan (2013). Motiram and Sarma (2014) present differences in average consumptions.
16I will draw upon Ferreira de Souza (2012) and Fausto and Fausto (2014, Chapter 10).
17Fausto and Fausto (2014) divide Brazilian history prior to 1985 into the following phases: 1500–1822, 1822–1889, 1889–1930, 1930–1945, 1945–1964, and 1964–1984. On the contrary, Skidmore (1996) divides it into eight phases: 1500–1750, 1750–1830, 1830–1870, 1870–1910, 1910–1945, 1945–1964, and 1964–1985.
18These figures are from the Statistical Appendix of the latest World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2016, Table A4).
19Cornia (2015) discusses the colonial origins of high inequality in Latin America and shows that Latin American inequality has grown since the nineteenth century.
20“1. Agricultural households are defined as any household in which at least one member is employed in the agricultural sector, and 67 per cent or more of the household income comes from agricultural activities. 2. Pluriactive households are defined as those in which at least one member is employed in the agricultural sector, but less than 67 percent of the household income is derived from agriculture. 3. Non-agricultural rural households are defined as households located in areas officially designated as rural, but without any household members working in agriculture. 4. Non-agricultural urban households are defined as those located in official urban areas, without any household members working in agriculture” (Soares et al. 2006, p. 3).
21For details of jobs created since 1993–1994 in various sectors, see Thomas (2014).
22See Papola and Pais (2007) and Papola (2013) for an extensive discussion of labor regulations and their reform.
23See Kotwal et al. (2011) for a detailed discussion.
24See Mishra and Ray (2011), and Vakulabharanam and Motiram (2012) for a discussion of this issue.
25Kakwani et al. (2010) have also highlighted the crucial role that social policies have played in protecting the poor from adverse shocks and delivering pro-poor growth.
26For a recent survey of conceptualizations of the Indian state, see Nagaraj and Motiram (2017).
27The comparison with developed countries is even starker: US — 8.5%, UK — 8.0%, and Norway — 8.1%. These figures are taken from the Economic Survey of India, Government of India (2013). Also see Kohli (2002) and Dreze and Sen (2013).
CHAPTER 6
Sustainable Development and BRICS: Unity Amid Diversity?
Anup Sinha
Heritage Business School, Kolkata, India
Introduction
Sustainable development is about ensuring that the current generations of human beings live in such a fashion that all other living beings, including future generations of human beings, can live within the limited resources available on the planet earth. Human development, with amazing growth in material goods and services aided by technology as well as the energy obtained from fossil fuels, has been quite dramatic in the last 200 years or so. However, it is being increasingly realized that in the process of material growth and development, human beings have wrought severe damage on the physical and natural environment. Some of the damages have been considered to be irreversible and global in nature, such as climate change and its effects.
Hence, sustainable development is a global problem that must be tackled through an international consensus on strategies and policies. Within this bigger rubric of global interventions, there are some problems that are local in character and require national or even municipal interventions. For instance, the preservation of biodiversity or some endangered species may be a national problem requiring national policies for conservation and protection. Another example of a local problem could be a factory emitting noxious fumes that cause some serious lung diseases. This is a problem with limited effects around the physical neighborhood of the factory. A simple solution would be to close it down, or force it to change its technology, or at least pay a price for the social health costs its pollution creates.
Given the way our modern societies are organized, nation states do have an important role to play in ensuring the world moves on to a sustainable development path. First of all, when a global problem is being tackled, say for instance global warming and climate change, a global consensus on the policy or actions that are to be taken is required. However, nation states have to agree to the solution and undertake their own parts of the action, consistent with the global decisions. Second, their own national policies can go a long way in efficiently tackling local problems of environmental conservation and protection. Third, a government can play a very critical role in creating an enabling atmosphere where individuals and communities make plans and undertake innovative solutions at the grassroots level. Fourth, the nation state can create social features of sustainable living in terms of improved well-being measured in terms of more employment, higher incomes, higher educational attainments, and better health and sanitation facilities. Finally, the nation state might influence, through mass communication techniques, a better sensitization of citizens to the importance of sustainable development. This in turn would nurture an individual’s commitment to changing one’s own lifestyle and consumption habits. Hence even though sustainable development is a global issue, national policies and interventions are an important part of any solution that will drive the world economy on to a sustainable pathway (Sarkar and Sinha, 2018).
In the next section, we discuss some of the sustainability issues that are germane to a nation state and its governance. This will give us a better understanding of the importance of the nations referred to as BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Environmental Issues, the Nation State, and BRICS
Nation states, defined territorially in terms of political boundaries, face a variety of environmental problems (United Nations, 2013). The most common of these problems are air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, water pollution, loss of soil fertility due to overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, and the presence of chemicals in everyday life such as those found in food, toiletries, and cosmetics. Loss of biodiversity and interrupted bio-geo-chemical cycles like the nitrogen cycle and phosphorous cycle are also present in many nations. Along with these ‘bads’ (opposite of economic goods), there are problems of depletion of resources necessary to support life like fresh water, marine stocks, and the fertility of the top soil (without which food would not be available). The extent of these problems varies from nation to nation, depending on the level of effective government policies, overall economic development, educational attainments, and the geography of the place. For instance, a nation like Saudi Arabia that is dependent heavily on a finite stock of oil for development, may face one set of problems related to a non-renewable resource for sustainable development, while another nation like Bolivia may face problems related to cutting down of rainforests for timber and fuel without an adequate pace of replenishment of trees and biodiversity. Other nations like China or India may face problems from a burgeoning population
