Brazilian Exports: Climbing down a Competitiveness Cliff

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Brazil’s Place in the Global Economy

“…4 Mineral, agricultural and other primary products account for over half of Brazil's total exports, with many products that are classified as "manufactured" actually involving the processing of raw materials; for example, exports of orange juice are counted as manufactured goods. It is estimated that the proportion of total Brazilian exports embodying "high technology" has decreased from over ten percent of total in 2000 to five percent by 2010 (Canuto 2013). The share of manufactured goods incorporating these high technologies, in turn, has likewise shrunk from roughly one-fifth of total manufactures in 2001 to less than one-tenth by 2011.…”

“…5 Even export goods incorporating low levels of technology slid from over 13 percent to under ten percent of total exports between 2000 and 2010. And this decrease in the content of technology in Brazilian exports was not the result of the intervening boom in commodity sales abroad; rather, it reflected modest growth in exports of manufactured goods embodying technology (Canuto et al 2013).…”

Decomposing growth patterns: The roles of investment, consumption, government expenditure, exports and education

“…1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Th ere are, however, challenges that the Brazilian economy will have to face in order to continue its impressive growth and development. Supply-side constraints, such as a low investment-to-GDP ratio, inadequate infrastructure and insuffi cient spending on workforce training and education (IMF, 2012;Canuto et al, 2013) need attention if further sustainable growth is to be generated. Th e dynamism of domestic demand has been driven in part by household indebtedness, which poses potential problems, as episodes of credit boom may be followed by periods of deleveraging.…”

Manufacturing Exports from Indian States

“…Mostly, the recent literature concentrates on either national-level trends of exports over industries and destinations (Husted and Nishioka 2013;Canuto et al 2013;Veeramani 2012;Hausmann and Klinge 2008;Schott 2007) or firms' export behaviour (Singh 2013(Singh , 2010Pradhan and Das 2013a;Carneiro et al 2010;Kumar and Pradhan 2007;Rankina et al 2006;Siddharthan and Nollen 2004;Rasiah 2003;Guan and Ma 2003;Zhao and Zou 2002;Aggarwal 2002) exploring the role of firm-specific factors and sectoral characteristics. Mostly, the recent literature concentrates on either national-level trends of exports over industries and destinations (Husted and Nishioka 2013;Canuto et al 2013;Veeramani 2012;Hausmann and Klinge 2008;Schott 2007) or firms' export behaviour (Singh 2013(Singh , 2010Pradhan and Das 2013a;Carneiro et al 2010;Kumar and Pradhan 2007;Rankina et al 2006;Siddharthan and Nollen 2004;Rasiah 2003;Guan and Ma 2003;Zhao and Zou 2002;Aggarwal 2002) exploring the role of firm-specific factors and sectoral characteristics.…”