Brazil and its Main States Technological Intensity of Exports (2000-2010)

Abstract

Nowadays, there is an intense debate about the process of reprimarization of Brazilian exports and its effects on the economy. This paper aims at contributing to this debate, aiming at identifying the technological intensity of Brazilian and its main states exports, between 2000 and 2010, to its main destinations. The study is based on secondary and official data, provided by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).  The results show that in this period, despite the increase in total exports, there was a drop in the share of high and medium-high technological intensity products on total exports, with a concentration of exports on low technological intensity and primary products, corroborating the hypothesis of the continuation of reprimarization of exports, observed originally in de 1990s. This situation was also observed in all main export states. With regard the states export destination, there was a high share of commodities and low intensity products in total exports to China, while Mercosur showed a higher concentration on medium-high and high technological products.