The aim of the article is to analyze the evolution of the coverage of basic sanitation services in Brazil since the beginning of the 1970s until 2004, taking into account some regional, municipal, and domiciliary variables: (i) geographic region; (ii) population and city size; (iii) urbanization rate; (iv) domicile location (rural or urban areas) and (v) monthly domiciliary income. This analysis allowed to evaluate: (i) whether the characteristics of domiciliary access deficit are recent or were already taking place in 1970 and (ii) whether there is a convergence of domiciliary access rates, i.e., if in the analyzed categories, the difference between the best and the worse rates of access are decreasing. Besides, it was possible to inquire which type of public policy carried away for the sector has generated investments that succeeded to reach the poorest localities.
Infrastructure; Basic sanitation; Brazil
