Evolução das indústrias de transformação de Pernambuco entre 1970 e 1974

Abstract

Abstract:

In order to evaluate the result of policies designed to stimulate the industrialization of peripherical areas, this paper analyzes, for the years of 1970 and 1974, the behavior of variables that cou1d explain and reflect changes in the organization and performance of the secondary sector in the state of Pernambuco, emphasizing the comparisons between the behavior of the sector at state and national levels.

The sustained investment effort since 1960 has not led to a higher participation of Pernambuco concerning value added, value of production, wages and salaries, and number of employees, relative to the whole country. Furthermore, it is observed that investment has been responsible for drastic changes ·in the size distribution of establishments, the industrial structure at the 2-digit level, and the technology-use pattern. Particularly, the small establishments, that account for a significant part of the employment in Pernambuco, are likely to become more and more marginal as they are caught in a trap of low productivity-low investment. New establishments tend to be of medium or large size, to concentrate their activity on modern branches, and to use more capital--intensive technology. At the same time, the investment pattern alters the productivity per employee and the participation of wages and salaries in the value added: the former grew and the latter declined from 1970 to 1974. The parallel reduction in the share of "other expenses" in the value added implies a significant increase of profitability, which compares favorably to that of the rest of the country, especially São Paulo, acting as a stimulus to maintain a high investment level, although smaller proportions of profits are reinvested.

The growth of the industrial sector, characterized by the implantation and expansion of establishments in modern branches, often tied to enterprises in the Center-South with which they maintain technological links, neither created an autonomous development focus capable of lending dynamism to the activities of the secondary and tertiary sectors, nor adjusted itself to the regional availability of production factors and final demand of the Northeast.