Are manufacturing industry spatially concentrated? An empirical test for Brazil (2002-2014)
Abstract The article presents new evidence of industrial concentration in Brazil for the period from 2002 to 2014. Based on Ellison and Glaeser (1994, 1997) and using the microdata of the RAIS-ME establishments, it is verified which manufacturing industries are concentrated through two statistical tests. The analysis is disaggregated by sector, and the dynamics of the concentration indicator is explored. The results indicated that industries are more concentrated than they would be if the firms’ locational choices were random. And that most industries tended to deconcentrate or the EGI was relatively stable, with the exception of the industry Equipment/Electronic Material, intensive in technology. However, a traditional labor-intensive “Leather Industry” was among the first placed in the EGI ranking, indicating that the labor pooling is an important agglomeration economy to the industry.