Foreign Trade, Productive Structures, Employment and Income in the Brazilian macroregions (2004-2014)

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between the insertion of foreign trade into the
Brazilian macroregions and their productive structures, employment and income. It demonstartes how, during
the period between 2004-2014, the national economic space was heterogeneously linked to the country’s trade
pattern as an exporter of natural resource-intensive goods. Using an analytical approach of the inter-regional
division of labour, regional indicators were developed based on the following data: foreign trade, industrial
structure, the sectoral composition of GDP, employment and income. Amongst the main conclusions, the paper
emphasises that the regions, which most increased the exports of commodities were the North, the Southeast
and the South; that there is a relationship between changes in the insertion of foreign trade and in regional
production structures; and that natural resource-intensive, export-oriented activities demonstrate a low capacity
for job creation, and that those which are created are predominantly concentrated in lower-paid work.