Evolution of the level of sophistication of Brazilian exports (2000-2013)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the level of sophistication of Brazilian exports by making use of the sophistication index proposed by Hausmann et al. (2007). The degree of sophistication of Brazilian exports is examined in disaggregation, between years 2000 and 2013. The calculated sophistication indicator also takes into account the disparities between developed and developing countries, and considers the differences in quality of products as suggested by Xu (2010). The results indicate that the sophistication of Brazilian exports has deteriorated over the years, particularly in the high tech segment. A disaggregated analysis finds some differences among sectors. The most notable productivity increase was the primary goods sector, the most stable behavior occurred in the low technological intensity sector, and other sectors showed oscillatory performance, with decreasing trend in recent years. Adjusting for the quality of products, the ranking among sectors became more evident, highlighting the technological and quality differences between sectors. The minimum (maximum) values of productivity had significant reduction (increase) in both groups of countries considered. It was also found significant differences among sectors of countries with different income levels. Developing countries show a more homogeneous behavior for the sophistication index of Brazilian exports across sectors than the developed countries.