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Wood, C. H. and de Carvaiho, J. A. The Demography of Inequality in Brazil. Cambridge University Press 1988. Price £27.50. Social inequality and the reciprocal relationship between inequality and demographic behaviour is the central concept of this book. In their analysis using the 1970 and 1980 census data for Brazil, the authors present the inequalities between levels of income and geographical regions for demographic phenomena, such as life expectancy, the birth rate or the rural outflow, and draw on economic and political history for explanations of their empirical findings. Their approach offers the chance to deduce causality in these relationships, but the conceptual framework applied, as the authors themselves point out, can only explain the logic of the relationship to be explored. This is where its limitations lie. For, although it establishes statistical relationships between social factors and demographic indicators it cannot do more than this. It cannot penetrate to causes. Despite these limitations the book does provide an instructive background for researchers wishing to investigate the demography of Brazil. A. SOLIMAN | ||||||