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Why are books so outrageously expensive in Brazil?
That's from a reader request. I'm no expert on Brazil, but here are a few possibilities:
1. Most Brazilians do not read. I don't mean they can't read, I mean they don't read for leisure so much. I was stuck at the Sao Paulo airport for seven hours and did not see a single person reading a book, not once.
Taking that as given, low demand means high prices. That's why Stephen King paperbacks are cheap and Edward Elgar (the name of an academic publisher) tomes go for $100 and up.
2. Brazilian retailing is not in every way efficient. Efficient retailing in the traditional sense is, by the way, bad for the quality of your food because it means it is easy to serve large numbers. And Brazil has some of the world's best food, and so inefficient retailing for its books.
3. No other supply source is right nearby and the Portuguese language does not produce an extremely thick market. Note that the Portuguese of Portugal is very different from the Portuguese of Brazil.
4. The Brazilian currency may be overvalued at the moment, at least in purchasing power parity terms, due to Brazil's commodity exports.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on May 22, 2008 at 05:03 AM in Books | Permalink
Comments
I agree that number 1 is the main cause.
Brazilian books usually come in nice editions. You won't find paperback versions of popular books, only soft covers made with thick paper and elaborated covers. Perhaps, similarly to food, it could be that the result of Brazil's inefficient book retailing is the better physical quality of the books.
Posted by: Diogo Costa at May 22, 2008 7:56:19 PM
Fascinating.
Here's this gigantic country with little influence outside its borders other than soccer, some music, and two or three movies.
I suspect the future will increasingly be like a combination of Brazil and the Ottoman Empire, with not much in the way of cultural innovation.
Posted by: Steve Sailer at May 22, 2008 8:05:46 PM
The factors of low demand and high prices are interconnected: one feeds the other.
What I found out a couple of years ago, and began using to my favor, is that paperbacks in English are mostly always cheaper (and more complete) than their Brazilian versions. For example: Freakonomics, in the British paperpack with extra content, costs LESS THAN HALF the price of the Brazilian edition. Mind you: if you went to a good bookstore carrying in yourself enough money only to buy the Brazilian version of Freakonomics, you could buy:
- The paperback version with extras;
- An American novel in paperback, say, by Brad Meltzer;
- A coffee and a coxinha, please, while you browse the books.
This creates another kind of unequality in Brazil - a cultural kind. The ability to read in English is even less well distributed than wealth. So, those who can actually read in English and create a habit out of that will have much, much more access to information than those who, even having some money, can't or won't read in English.
Those who can read in English but won't could as well watch bad TV during all day, because I don't care about how they prefer to waste their time. What I do care about is how expensive Brazilian books are even in comparison to IMPORTED books. That concentrates cultural wealth in an even worse way as Brazil concentrates financial wealth.
If you look at Brazilian editions, they are beautifully crafted. Strong paper and so on. Few people read, but the market bets that those who do prefer to read beautiful. That makes expensive books.
Posted by: Marcelo Soares at May 22, 2008 8:31:15 PM
I don't think the culture of slavery has much to do with our reading habits. In fact, I speculate on my dissertation that some issues usually arise (I am a Bourdieu reader, and thus I do have a more sociological approach to Economics, by the way):
1) Reading is seen as a "bad" thing, as a habit done by pretentious people. Here, the culture of "accommodation" reigns high: let's grab some beers and be more like the other guys (well, our own president says that reading is like "doing exercises on a threadmill - it is boring, too hard, but you may get used to in the end"). This is what I call "pressure from below".
2) At the same time, editors and educators treat the book as some source of magic, an object who is above all others. So, every time the subject shows up on the media, it is followed by classical music, very stiff people wearing heavy glasses and discourses that embed books with a "holier than thou" packaging.
To sum it up, books are not well-seen by the vast majority of the population (it is not a cool thing to be/have around) and those who are responsible for developing and market books are more worried about the valuation of the category rather than its popularization. That's why my dissertation was called "I'm not in it for the money!", a very common sentence book editors in Brazil say in interviews.
Posted by: Ricardo Amaral at May 22, 2008 8:42:12 PM
Interestingly, now that I think of it. My experience in daily comute by subway in Sao Paulo is that there is some reading going on, but you will find it is mostly either the Bible by protestants or Kardecist books.
I will try to pay more attention to that. Next time I will take my head from my own book and watch.
Posted by: Andre Uratsuka Manoel at May 22, 2008 8:42:59 PM
Here are some amazing statistics from the big PISA international achievement test of 15 year olds in 2000:
In Brazil, only 4% of the youths read at one of the two highest levels on a six point scale, versus 33% in the USA and 50% in top-rated Finland.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/44/53/33691596.pdf
Posted by: Steve Sailer at May 22, 2008 9:34:42 PM
As for reading in commutes, I take a 45-minute bus to college every day and almost every single person in the bus is going to school as well (campus is kinda far from where most people live). Very few people, even people I know to be Literature students, are reading. I think the main causes (aside from the whole "nobody reads thing") is that (a) buses are always very crowded and (b) the road is bad. That makes for a noisy, bumpy environment not very conducive to reading. (And since audiobooks are almost unheard of, even bookish college kids just listen to music.)
Posted by: Cisco at May 22, 2008 9:51:52 PM
On the other hand, it is possible to find American textbooks(college level)for cheaper prices in Brazil than in the US... but maybe that just means that texts books are seriously overpriced in the US.
Posted by: Marcelo at May 22, 2008 11:04:54 PM
To Steve:
You are comparing reading levels between two highly developed countries and a third world one. If you take a look at Mexico's numbers, you will find that they are very close to Brazil's, albeit a little bit higher in the top levels (7% vs 4%). And if other Latin American countries were included in the sample, such as Peru, Venezuela and Colombia, I would expect similar numbers as well. Chile and Argentina would probably grade higher, although not by much, in my opinion.
Posted by: Dan at May 22, 2008 11:59:36 PM
Right, Mexico's 2000 reading levels were almost as bad as Brazil's.
Good thing we're importing so much of the population of Mexico, like John McCain wants. He should run on the slogan:
Invite the World
Invade the World
In Hock to the World
Go McCain!
Posted by: Steve Sailer at May 23, 2008 3:47:55 AM
Could readers please comment on reading habits in other Latin American countries?
Posted by: J. at May 23, 2008 6:33:50 AM
Well, the poor do not read because books are too expensive for them, and, even, though complete illiteracy is relatively rare, poor reading skills are common. No mistery here.
There is a lower-middle class crowd that reads a lot. These are people who see education as their only way to social mobility. But these people do not have the money to buy many books, and often rely on photocopies of academic books. I have friends who graduated in Law or Economics and finished College with barely one shelf of books, and several boxes of photocopies. I am not sure how numerous is this crowd, though.
As for why the elite does not read, I have a pet theory that goes like this:
1 - In Brazil there was not a declining aristocracy who had to assert itself against the rising merchant class using their cultural credentials.
2 - Nor was there an educated working class who would force the elite to distinguish itself.
If this is right, as the poor become educated (this is very, very recent), the elite will have to test their literacy more often. This should take some years, because I suspect a determining factor will be to have well-read parents.
Posted by: NPTO at May 23, 2008 8:36:41 AM
As a brazilian ( who likes to read) I say that brazilians don´t read due to a cultural problem. People in general consider reading boring and the last option of leisure. People who read a lot can be regarded as a excentric. In addition books are expensive, and the libraries are not good.
Reading is an habit that you must learn to like it... and parents prefer to let their children watching cable TV instead of incentivating this habit. In general, even who has a lot of money do not read.
I see that in Argentina people read much more than us and cost of books is at least half of the price of Brazil, sometimes 3,4 times less. People are proud of reading, it is part of Argentinian culture, like: to be an argentinian you must like to read.
Posted by: Carlos B at May 23, 2008 10:21:09 AM
I am Brazilian, living in Brazil. Of your four points, I believe #1 is the closest to the truth. I like to use my wife as an example. She is extremely intelligent and has a Ph.D, but hasn't read a whole book in 12 years. Articles and papers, yes. Books, no. It's just not in her upbringing.
This leads to the question of *why* brazilians don't read much, and I agree with the idea about the portuguese language from previous comments. Written english is very similar to colloquial spoken english, and thus reading english-language books feels familiar and comfortable. Written portuguese is quite different from the spoken language, and so feels strange and unpleasant. I read two books a month but most are in english. I only read one portuguese-language book every year, on average, and always find that the cognitive load it imposes on me is much higher.
Posted by: at May 23, 2008 10:47:55 AM
Comment about Finns (mentioned by Sailer) seems to have disappeared. Why?
Posted by: at May 23, 2008 1:29:29 PM
Oops, sorry. Point about Finns was made by Sailer.
Posted by: at May 23, 2008 1:34:12 PM
Writing about the prices and not about why we, Brazilians, don't use to read:
1. Prices: you're right, brand new books aren't cheap in Brazil. And people here do prefer pay for a soccer match than for a book.
2. Brazilian retailing: we have some good bookstores such as Fnac, Saraiva, Siciliano and so on. Maybe logistics is the problem -- and not only for books.
3. Portuguese PT vs. Portuguese BR: most Brazilians really can't understand Portuguese as it's written/spoken in Portugal. More: most Brazilians don't understand a simple text written in Brazilian Portuguese standard (cf: http://pisa2003.acer.edu.au/index.php -- in English -- or http://www.inep.gov.br/imprensa/noticias/outras/news03_25.htm -- in Portuguese). What a shame!
4. Brazilian currency: I don't see it as a major cause.
Another possibility: are publishers as efficient as they should be?
Best regards,
George de Moraes
Curitiba - Brazil
Posted by: George de Moraes at May 23, 2008 2:45:14 PM
Bookstores like Fnac and Saraiva make their profits selling everthing, from DVDs to computers, but not selling books.
Posted by: André Kenji at May 23, 2008 6:07:57 PM
Mexico and Brazil have average IQ levels of 87. Of course few of them read books.
But lets keep puzzling over socio-economic explanations. Ignore that elephant.
Posted by: Randall Parker at May 23, 2008 6:33:22 PM
Besides any/every monetary problem of our nation, this is as simple as that; Brazilians do NOT have the habit of reading. It is also not stimulated at schools, from prep-schools to university level. So, the cliche "low demand, high prices" can somehow, be used.
However, a family which earns R$400 (around 220 dolars) monthly, would rather buy food, supplies, etc, than buy a book. A book costing R$40 (10% of house income) will be, naturally, expensive. And that represents the situation of 80% of our population.
So, in my point of view, it is not about books being overpriced. It is about how bad the situation in Brazil is.
Posted by: Juliana Moura Bueno (from Sao Paulo, Brazil) at May 24, 2008 6:32:55 PM
Cost is not the issue. As someone pointed here, we see poor people with expensive gadgets and Maracanã stadium is always full when popular teams play there. You can go to a mid-class house and won't see a bookshelf but will see a fancy US$2000 LCD TV. Books are expensive in Brazil as almost everything else: electronics, cars, clothes, shoes, etc.
Brazilians don't read because reading demands concentration and we, in general, have the concentration of a puppy beagle.
Posted by: Claudio at May 25, 2008 8:14:33 PM
Where to start? Geez. I'll try by commenting on the most relevant points. Cost is def. a major player although Brazil not being much of a reader's paradise trumps the cost point, as has been pointed out by a few people here.
"You can go to a mid-class house and won't see a bookshelf but will see a fancy US$2000 LCD TV."
Books therefore aren't part of everyday life and normal purchases. Make the choice, food vs. books and its easy. Refine the choice, material 'necessities' vs. books and its even easier. Brazilians are resourceful people so if they need a certain book, they'll find a cheaper way to obtain it (camêlo which is a street vendor or 'sebo' which is a 2nd-hand bookstore and also Portuguese for pork grease)
Slave culture as well as a social culture may very well play a part in the debate too, as was also pointed out. I do see Brazil being the kind of country Jimbino referred to in that post-schooling, education isn't seen as any type of priority.
Let's expand on these ideas a little. From what I've seen, reading isn't stressed as an important leisure activity in Brazil although when considering the class load (which I find superior to that of US students), one would think that Brazilians were ahead of Americans in a way (especially when considering the subjects included in the vestibular, or SAT of sorts). The novela culture doesn't help either as we both know that when they novela das 8 comes on, a lot of Brazil stops what they are doing to watch. The conversation in the street turns not to what great book you just read but rather to why did Bia drive off the cliff and "die" in the novela Belissima (ok, that's old news but it was the last novela I watched). From another view, walk into any LAN house (cyber cafe) and all you find are tons of teenagers yelling and playing video games. Insert the beach/sports club culture and you find more involving things to do than to just read a book. Speaking of sports, what are they good for and how is that knowledge of use, except when discussing facts with other aficionados?
Ex. I learn Portuguese and now I have a skill that opens me up to an entire world of subjects and experiences, therefore its of exceptional use and benefit to me. On the other side, I spent two hours watching a soccer game with my friends and aside from socializing, I now know the score. I repeat, how is this information useful? This however is a whole other can of worms.
As for BR Port vs. PT Port, I agree. Popular writers are easy to understand and don't put a strain on your brain, but research papers and I'm sure other more academically-minded subjects are a bit stressing. Lets not even get into 'Os Sertões' by Euclides da Cunha!
On the subject of there being a lot more information in English-language versions of books, that point is moot as a large enough readership of English-language books would have to exist in Brazil in order for this argument of more vs. less to make sense.
I used to be one of the two-hour commuters on the bus from the Zona Oeste to the Zona Sul in Rio and I spent my time between listening to Italian Pimsleur mp3's on my iPod (I already knew Portuguese) and listening to music. I'm a big believer in taking things in and smelling the flowers when I travel so you wouldn't catch me reading anything as my face was always glued to the fantastic views of Rio. There's always something new to notice if one pays enough attention.
My 'dois centavos' based on almost 10 years of studying Brazilian culture.
Posted by: Adam at May 26, 2008 2:56:37 AM
Randall Parker,
Where did you get these statistics from? I find it extremely hard to believe that IQ could explain the fact that a lot of Brazilians don't read. I also find it hard to see why someone with below-average IQ would be prevented from reading most of the current best-sellers. Indeed, I think you're most likely to find that the ability to finish reading some of these books is inversely related to one's IQ level.
Posted by: julian at May 26, 2008 11:17:34 AM
Wow! All these comments and nobody mentions going to a library. Do they exist in Brazil? Or are they more of anglo-sphere phenomenon?
Posted by: Marc at May 26, 2008 11:52:59 PM
One more comment! I think that this is a latin thing for sure. In Quebec libraries are not what they are in the rest of Canada. Very few French Quebeckers read and I do believe that this is similar to Brazil, the book industry is just not competitive or well run.
Posted by: Marc at May 27, 2008 12:03:15 AM
