ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the main reasons and implications of changes in the rural labour market in Brazil. It presents a brief overview of the Brazilian rural labour market in the 2000s, and analyses the main institutional changes that has been occurring in this market. The chapter also analyses the main changes that affected the agricultural production and rural labour market in Brazil. Agriculture has played an important role in the Brazilian economy and society, especially in terms of economic development, employment and income generation. It has also functioned as a regulation valve for rural exodus, expelling people to urban areas and providing alternatives for rural occupation in the frontier areas with varying intensity in different periods. Changes in the rural labour market were not homogenous among the regions or social groups. A remarkable change in the rural labour market is the improvement of the Brazilian social protection mechanisms, especially the formalization of the agricultural work.
