Alfredo Bruto da Costa was born in
Goa in the former
Portuguese India. He was the son of António Anastásio Bruto da Costa, who led a group also known as the "Círculo de Margão" (Margão Circle), which wanted greater autonomy for Goa from Portugal during the Portuguese
Second Republic. Bruto da Costa graduated in engineering from the IST
Instituto Superior Técnico of the
Technical University of Lisbon and completed a Doctorate in Social Sciences from the
University of Bath, UK, with a thesis entitled
The Paradox of Poverty – Portugal, 1980-1989. He taught at the
Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), the School of Economics and Management (ISEG, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão) and the Institute of Labour Sciences (ISCTE, Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e Emprego) on the subject of poverty and social exclusion, social problems and social policy. == References ==