Work developed at the Institute of Economics
aims to generate an instrument aimed at public policies

Methodology will map
local productive arrangements

MANUEL ALVES FILHO

UA team of researchers from Unicamp's Institute of Economics (IE), coordinated by professor Wilson Suzigan, is developing a methodology that allows the statistical mapping and structural characterization of so-called local productive systems or arrangements, better known by the acronym APLs. APLs can be understood as models of territorial organization of production or, in an even more simplified way, as the concentration of several companies linked to a productive activity in a city or region. A well-known example is the footwear sector in Franca. The objective of the work, which is essentially academic in nature, is to generate an instrument that helps guide public policies aimed at the segment.

Public managers will have a database

According to Professor Suzigan, the methodology, still in the development phase, consists of developing indicators of geographic concentration, according to classes of economic activity and local specialization by micro-regions. To do this, experts use mathematical calculations and data extracted from the Annual Social Information List (RAIS), prepared by the Ministry of Labor. There is also field work, with visits to companies and institutions that are part of the APLs. At the end of the work, the IE professor estimates, a database will emerge that will provide public managers with a kind of x-ray of the local systems and arrangements that exist in the country, thus enabling the adoption of coordinated actions for the sector. The purpose, he explains, is to avoid dispersed initiatives, which reduces waste of time and money and makes public policies more consistent.

Suzigan recalls that the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) is expected to launch, possibly in August, a program to encourage APLs, a measure foreseen within the industrial policy formulated by the current government. More than 20 institutions and bodies will be involved in this effort. “If public managers do not have an instrument that facilitates the coordination of the various actions that will be carried out, there will be a risk that the program will not achieve its objective, due to disarticulation”, warns the work coordinator, who has the support CNPq finance. According to him, the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) have already shown interest in knowing and possibly applying the methodology.

The team led by Professor Suzigan has already visited around 20 APLs, spread across eight Brazilian states. For the purposes of the study, productive arrangements or systems from different sectors were considered, according to the IE professor. He highlights that this type of production organization model has achieved great success, with some exceptions. By grouping together in a certain geographic space, companies linked to the same activity establish extremely favorable operating conditions. The physical proximity of partners and suppliers facilitates, for example, the flow of inputs, as well as the dissemination of new knowledge.

Furthermore, adds Professor Suzigan, it is very common for companies to come together in the form of consortia or cooperatives, to organize raw material purchasing centers, a measure that helps to significantly reduce costs. This interaction also allows the promotion of technical training courses for employees, the creation of an export consortium and even the construction of technological centers for collective use. An example of this last action comes from Votuporanga, a city located in the northwestern part of the State of São Paulo. The municipality has a large number of furniture factories. Between 1999 and 2001, companies in the sector came together and petitioned government agencies for resources to build a technology center.

The unit, which cost around R$3 million, was built and currently offers professional training courses for more than 400 young people. Thanks to the initiative, the furniture factories in Votuporanga are the ones that hold the most quality certificates in Brazil. Professor Suzigan highlights that APLs do not only bring benefits to actors linked to production. They also help to boost the economic and social indicators of a city or region. By constituting an entire production chain, which brings together manufacturers, input suppliers, service providers, etc., these systems or arrangements generate employment and, consequently, income. Additionally, they attract institutions focused on vocational education, which has a positive impact on the area of ​​education.

Last but not least, LPAs help alleviate social problems. In these local production systems, says the IE professor, there tends to be more solidarity, associations and joint actions by companies and unions. A case that the IE professor usually cites as an example of this social gain is a study recently released by the press, which established the ranking of the most violent municipalities in the State of São Paulo. “Of the four least violent cities, three are home to local productive systems or arrangements,” says Suzigan.

But not everything is rosy in this scenario. Because they depend on a single activity, APLs are subject to setbacks, especially when a crisis hits the sector in a specific manner. This is what happened in the recent past with the textile industries of Americana, in the Metropolitan Region of Campinas (RMC). Due to competition from Asian products, among other factors, the sector faced serious problems. Factories went bankrupt and others were incorporated by larger groups. Only those that had the capacity to modernize and establish efficient standards of competitiveness survived.

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