Brazil has become one of the most attractive partners, especially in light of recent changes in the global environment. Rising uncertainty and instability call for the need to diversify trading partners. As of 2024, Brazil’s GDP has reached 2.2 trillion US dollars. Brazil ranks as the world’s seventh-largest economy, following the United States, China, the European Union, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom. Despite its significance, however, relatively little research has been conducted in Korea to investigate and understand the Brazilian economy. This report aims to analyze Brazil’s consumer market through the lens of the informal economy in particular. The informal economy refers to economic activities that would be included in GDP if monitored by the government but are not officially documented due to institutional or regulatory contexts. The size of Brazil’s informal economy is so large that understanding it is essential to understanding the Brazilian economy in depth. More specifically, the informal economy share in Brazil amounts to 33.4% of GDP. This figure is significantly high for a country with a decent level of GDP per capita compared to other Latin American countries.

This report exclusively investigates three features of the Brazilian economy, all of which are closely related to the informal economy. First, the low-income and low-wealth groups experience severe and the poverty rate is high. Both income and wealth mobility are low. Inequality is pronounced not only in a static sense but also in a dynamic sense. Second, access to financial intermediaries is limited for both low-income (low-wealth) households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As of 2025, the Selic rate is 15%. Borrowing rates for households and SMEs are particularly high, as household borrowing rates typically exceed 50% annually. Although fintech has recently made access more feasible, demand for cash transactions still remains high. Lastly, informal labor contracts are prevalent. Approximately 37.9% of total employment is informal.

Furthermore, Brazil is well known for its inequality and polarization. Although the income Gini coefficient has declined over the last 30 years, it remains high, exceeding 50. The top 10% income share in Brazil is 39.1%, which is higher than the Latin American average of 34.2%. Meanwhile, the bottom 10%’s income share is 1.4%, which is relatively lower than the Latin American average of 1.7%. Brazil also demonstrates a high degree of urban concentration, contributing to heightened regional inequality.

Using a simplified macroeconomic model, this report provides a theoretical foundation for the underlying mechanisms through which the informal economy exacerbates the above-mentioned features. Limited access to financial intermediaries and the prevalence of informal labor worsen inequality and generate a poverty trap. Low returns on assets for wealth-poor households raise their marginal propensity to consume, leading to low savings. As the informal economy grows, capital accumulated in the formal sector shrinks and the rate of return rises. Wealthy households benefit from the high returns, and polarization widens on the right tail of the wealth distribution. The model quantitatively evaluates the potential gains that the Brazilian government could achieve through implementing policies aimed at improving financial accessibility.

This report examines Brazilian policies that partially mitigate the informal economy. Of course, few policies are designed to directly target the informal economy. However, the Brazilian government has implemented numerous policies to support low-income and low-wealth households, improve financial accessibility nationwide, secure tax revenues through formalization, and increase aggregate productivity through worker education. All of these policies are closely related to the informal economy.

Next, the report analyzes consumption patterns among Brazilian domestic consumers. Due to Brazil’s high level of income inequality, it is common practice to classify households into five groups—A, B, C, D, and E. With Group A representing the highest-income class and Groups D and E representing the lowest-income classes, these polarized consumers tend to exhibit distinct consumption patterns. The report also presents case studies of marketing strategies targeting low-income and low-wealth households as well as top income earners. In general, expanding the consumer base and improving financial inclusion play key roles in low-income markets. Regardless of income level, consumers rely heavily on the established images of companies.

Finally, we suggest several broad policy implications based on the observations discussed above. Due to the Brazilian government’s multifaceted policy efforts related to the informal economy, there is substantial potential for public-sector cooperation between Korea and Brazil. Brazil has recently established the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise, and Small Business (MEMP), signaling a strong policy commitment to supporting SMEs. In this context, cooperation through Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) appears promising. Bilateral programs could also be pursued within the framework of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which was launched under Brazil’s leadership. Moreover, due to the polarized nature of Brazil’s domestic consumer market, Korean firms could benefit from entering the Brazilian market through strategies such as product differentiation and image-based marketing.

국문요약

제1장 서론
1. 연구 배경 및 필요성
2. 비공식 경제의 범주와 특성
3. 보고서 구성과 목적

제2장 브라질 비공식 경제의 특징과 불평등
1. 브라질 비공식 경제의 특징
2. 브라질 내 불평등

제3장 거시경제모형을 이용한 금융접근성 개선의 후생효과 추정
1. 자산시장분리와 비공식 경제의 관계
2. 주요 결과
3. 소결

제4장 비공식 경제 축소를 위한 브라질 정부의 주요 정책
1. 빈곤층의 부의 이동성 향상
2. 금융서비스 접근성 제고
3. 세수확보: 기업 및 노동자 공식화
4. 노동자 지원 및 재교육: 생산성 향상

제5장 비공식 경제에 기반한 브라질 내수시장의 주요 특징
1. 비공식 경제 내 소비자 행태
2. 양극화된 시장과 경제적 기회

제6장 결론
1. 연구 결과 요약
2. 브라질과의 협력 기회

참고문헌

부록

Executive Summary