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The Higher Up, the more Unequal: On Meritocracy in the Admission to the Brazilian Public Sector

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Abstract

This study investigates the admission to positions in the Brazilian public sector based on secondary data. The results of the models tested show that the variables of human capital (meritocratic) were associated to the admittance to the public sector and the effect of these variables was more important for the case of servants under the statutory regime. This might confirm the bureaucratic and meritocratic character of the Brazilian public sector. However, when analyzing the admittance to more privileged positions in the public sector, such as managerial and professional positions, one might observe that the process is in fact not meritocratic.

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Notes

  1. [Translation note] An armed movement led by Getúlio Vargas which culminated in a coup d’état that ousted president Washington Luiz and ended the period known as the Old Republic or the First Republic.

  2. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) methodology, Brazil’s economically active population is made up of individuals over 10 years old. However, since the present study is dedicated to the public sector, we used the 18 – 70 age range.

  3. Two models were tested, one to determine the probability of an individual to start working in the public sector, and the other to test the probability of being admitted in the public sector under a statutory regime.

  4. Black and mixed race (pardos) people were considered non-white.

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  1. Institute for Social Research, Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, Rua Dois Irmãos, 92 - Anísio Teixeira Campus – Apipucos, Recife, PE, 52071-440, Brazil

    Diogo Henrique Helal

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Correspondence to Diogo Henrique Helal.

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Helal, D.H. The Higher Up, the more Unequal: On Meritocracy in the Admission to the Brazilian Public Sector. Public Organiz Rev 22, 743–761 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-021-00540-6

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