Explorando as associa es entre redes pessoais e acesso a bens materiais em duas metrópoles brasileiras

This article discusses personal networks of individuals in poverty who live in twelve localities in S o Paulo and Salvador, Brazil. Previous results from this same investigation analyzed the networks of 209 poor individuals and 30 middle class individuals in S o Paulo. The research explored the role of social networks in poverty reproduction, taking into account the access to goods and services obtained through markets, as well as those received from helps and social aids. The present article complements the information with 152 other networks of individuals in poverty who live in five locations in Salvador.The article departs from the comparison of the characteristics of social networks in the two cities. In general, the results confirm previous findings, but important differences associated with the role of space and residential segregation arise. Following, we developed quantitative analyses of the associations between networks, income, employment and job tenure, testing the importance of social attributes usually considered by the literature, but also network and sociability measures. The results confirm the central importance of network and sociability types in the explaining of poverty conditions.