URBANIZATION, EDUCATION AND RACIAL INTERMARRIAGE IN BRAZIL.

Abstract

Urbanization and education have brought numerous changes in societies around the world. One change is the contact of different groups, often with an attendant increase in intergroup marriage. In this paper we examine the intergroup intermarriage in Brazil in the context of changing urbanization and education. While intergroup marriage has been intensively examined in the United States, the topic has received less attention in Brazil. We use census data from 1991 and 2000, and national survey data from 2001 and 2008 to examine factors predicting intergroup marriage and the trends in intergroup marriage in Brazil. The results show higher rates of intermarriage in urban than in rural areas. Intermarriage is less common among the most educated people. While the rates of intermarriage are increasing substantially, the rates of change are diffuse across urban and rural areas, regions and education groups.