Regional hierarchies in the sugarcane agribusiness: border movement and the centrality of São Paulo

Abstract

The starting point for this paper takes the form of a discussion with studies related to the border movement of the sugar-energy sector and its influences on urban and regional development in the interior of Brazil. It is argued that, although this process has induced a major dispersion of production, new inequalities persist within this sector because the decision-making centers and the production of knowledge for the innovation process essentially remain located in the State of São Paulo. The methodology was based on qualitative and quantitative analyses. Data on the location of company headquarters and productive units were used for the study on the decision-making centers. In studying the centralization of knowledge, we undertook an historical investigation into how learning and sugarcane production techniques in São Paulo have evolved. From a theoretical viewpoint, the paper seeks to contribute to the analysis of how forces of geographical differentiation are present in the same productive sector.

Keywords:
Sugar-energy Sector; Regional Development; New Regional Inequalities; Knowledge Production; Decision-making Centers