DEINDUSTRIALIZATION AND SUBSECTORAL HETEROGENEITY: INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates deindustrialization as a globally unequal process, related both to the degree of development and path dependence, and to economic policies that reinforce long-term trends or, alternatively, enable structural changes. This phenomenon, Traditionally seen as the fall in industrial production/employment as the country develops, can, however, engender considerable subsectoral and even regional heterogeneity, an aspect that this research seeks to explore. The methodology comprises a theoretical analysis, with a review of the literature on deindustrialization and sectoral heterogeneity and an empirical investigation, with descriptive analysis of manufacturing data for 111 countries, in addition to a specific analysis for Brazil. The results show that developed countries consolidated their leadership in the most advanced sectors of industry, whereas most developing economies, including Brazil, experienced not only a process of deindustrialization, but also the concentration of industrial productive activities in subsectors intensive in technologies with lower added value. In this scenario, if structural change constitutes an important driving force of economic development, the recent trends observed signal serious challenges to the promotion of inclusive and sustained growth in developing economies and in Brazil.

KEYWORDS:
deindustrialization; subsectoral heterogeneity; manufacturing industry; technological intensity; Brazilian economy