A study of the behavior of labor industrial productivity in the regions of Brazil during the period 1996 to 2010

The objective of this paper is to present an empirical study of the behavior of labor industrial productivity in the regions of Brazil during the period 1996 to 2010 by groups of technology intensity. It was used the shift-share method. The results indicated that in the groups of sectors that showed positive growth rates were the competitive advantages inherent to each region that explained, in most cases, the growth of labor productivity. There was predominance of technology absorbing sectors in prejudice of sectors that generate technological spillovers. The growth of labor productivity in the extractive industry showed a upward trend, while the manufacturing industry showed downward trend, evidencing a stagnation of labor productivity at the national level. There are evidences of a reprimarization process of industrial activities through the specialization in commodities