The structure and competitiveness of the Brazilian capital goods industry

This article analyses changes in the structure and competitiveness of the Brazilian capital goods industry since the early 1990s and proposes a classification within that industry based on the different industrial segments from which the demand for machinery and equipment derives. Although this industry still accounts for a large share of manufacturing sector value added, the production efficiency and international competitiveness of the segments it comprises are quite heterogeneous. The article singles out the segments with the greatest development potential and suggests measures that could be taken in each of them to complement the industrial and technology policy instruments contained in the Production Development Policy officially established in May 2008.