The use of socioeconomic indicators to assess the impacts of sugarcane production in Brazil

Pedro Gerber Machado, Michelle Cristina Araujo Picoli, Laura Jimena Torres, Janaína Garcia Oliveira and Arnaldo Walter

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015, vol. 52, issue C, 1519-1526

Abstract: Global biofuel consumption increased in 2013, following a slight decline in 2012. The bulk of ethanol comes from two countries: United States (based on corn), and Brazil (sugarcane). The International Energy Agency predicted a world market of approximately 200 BL of fuel ethanol in 2020, and both US and Brazil might keep their importance. It is still a matter of discussion the impacts of such economic activity at the level it takes place. In this sense, a research activity has been conducted aiming at evaluating the socioeconomic impacts of sugarcane activities at a municipal level. Three important states in Brazil for sugarcane production were chosen, São Paulo, Alagoas and Goiás. Eight indicators were used to assess quality of life: Illiteracy Rate, Human Development Index, Theil Index, Percentage of Poor People, Connection to the Grid, Connection to the Sewer System, Child Mortality and Life Expectancy. The analysis of the socioeconomic indicators of the municipalities showed with statistical rigor, that in all three states studied the municipalities in which sugarcane activity is relevant with sugarcane presented, over all, better socioeconomic conditions represented by the indicators selected. However, the state of São Paulo was the only to present advantage for the municipalities with sugarcane, for all indicators selected. On the other hand, the differences between municipalities are not so strong in Goiás state, but it is important to highlight that sugarcane production started more recently than other states. The analysis related to the evolution of the selected socioeconomic indicators of both groups did not allow the acceptance of the hypothesis that the indicators evolved differently when comparing the groups with sugarcane and without. When statistically significant, municipalities without sugarcane show better evolution. Nevertheless, considering the indicators used, the advantages of the municipalities with sugarcane are reduced in the course of time.

Keywords: Socio-economic impacts; Sustainability; Brazil; Ethanol; Sugarcane; Indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.127

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