Outsourcing and Structural change: Sectoral and subsystem approaches applied to Brazil, 2010-2015

Abstract

Abstract This article combines the sectoral and subsystem analytical approaches to explore the connection between outsourcing and structural change in Brazil. We applied statistical tests to examine the actual extent of service outsourcing in the domestic market from 2010 to 2015. Our results reveal a process of domestic outsourcing marked by the vertical integration of industrial activities and the increased weight of services in industrial subsystems. This process might reflect the reorganization of industrial activities in the 2010-2015 period. The increasing integration of market services into industrial subsystems explains, at least partially, the commonly claimed stagnation of Brazilian industry during that time.