O comércio intra-industrial brasileiro de 1990 a 2013: mensuração, decomposição e os determinantes

Abstract

In a bilateral transaction, the intra-industry trade (CII) happens when both countries export and import goods that are produced in the same industry. As several researches about this subject have aimed, the share of intra-industry trade has been increasing over the years. Nevertheless, the measured results for trade between Brazil and the rest of the world reveal the dominance of inter-industry engagement at the expense of intra-industry. Using trade data that covers all goods of the Harmonized System at six-digit, this essay investigates the Brazilian intra-industry trade between the period 1990 and 2013 under its two kinds: the exchange of horizontally differentiated goods and vertically differentiated goods. Furthermore, with respect to vertical intra-industry trade, this research will focus on the definition of the upper and lower sides in order to verify if Brazil is a net importer or exporter of vertically differentiated goods with relatively higher quality. Among the 57 countries sample, the Grubel and Lloyd index showed that Brazilian intra-industry trade is, on average, more relevant with the following partners: Argentine, United States, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Colombia. Through the industry prism, the sectors that contributed most were the ones that produce transport materials, and electronic and electrical machinery, also deserving mention the chemistry industry. Exploiting customary econometric techniques in a panel data approach, the investigation of the determinants of CII leads to admit that the transaction of goods belonging to the same industryintensifies when Brazil trades with large markets benefiting scale economies. Moreover, according to the estimated parameters, the geographical distance that separates Brazil from its trading partners affects more the intra-industry trade than the inter-industry one.The process of trade integration triggered by MERCOSUR, in turn, shows positive correlation with vertical intra-industry trade.