Industrial upgrade, economic catch-up and industrial policy in Brazil: general trends and the specific case of the mining industry

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of industrial policy in promoting technological upgrading in Brazil. To do that, we focus on the main characteristics of the Brazilian national innovation system and the role of its institutions. We examine whether industrial policy implemented between 2003 and 2014 was able to promote changes in agents’ conventions towards more vigorous strategies linked to technological upgrading and catch-up. In addition, we analyze the Brazilian mining industry, a sector in which Brazil has developed relevant competitive advantages in international markets, and in which domestic agents have built important operational capabilities. Main results show the huge difficulties faced by industrial policy efforts in establishing mechanisms to drive technological catch-up, based on the unsuccessful experiences of policies in the years 2002 to 2014. The specific experience of the Brazilian mining industry confirms these general findings, since domestic mining companies were not able to create new technological capabilities, even during the commodity price boom period.