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The Brazilian Innovation Systemand the BRICS project

José E Cassiolato, Márcia Rapini & Priscila Koeller RedeSist - www.redesist.ie.ufrj.br

II II International International WorkshopWorkshop of the BRICS Project of the BRICS Project Comparative Study of the National Innovation Comparative Study of the National Innovation

Systems of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Systems of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South AfricaAfrica

GlGlóória Rio de Janeiroria Rio de Janeiro27 de abril de 200727 de abril de 2007

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NIS: The Narrow Version

Firms S&T infrastructure Demand

Narrow

S&T&I Policy

Very Narrow

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NIS: the Broad Version

Subsystem Production/Innovation

Subsystem

Capacity-Building, Research & Technology Services

Demand (segmented)

Narrow

Wide

Geo-Political, Social, Political, Economic, Cultural & Local Context

Subsystem Policy, Promotion, Representation &

Financing

Very Narrow

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Geo-Political, Social, Political, Economic, Cultural & Local Context

• Geo-political context• History matters

• Social, Political & Economic context• Cultural aspects• Regional & local characteristics

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Sub-System: Production & Inovation

• Structure of economic activities• Sectoral distribution • Spatial distribution• Employment• Size• Informality

• Innovative effort

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Sub-System: Capacity-building, Research & Technological Services

• Education (basic, technical & graduation)• Pos-graduation• R & D• Training & Capacity-building• S&T Information• Metrology• Consulting • Intellectual Property

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Sub-System: Policies, Representation & Financing

• Explicit policies (S&T&I, industrial, sectoral)• Implicit policies (macroeconomic, investment,

trade, etc.)• Regulation (sectoral, foreign trade, intelectual

property, environment, innovation)• Promotion• Financing• Representation

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Demand

• Income distribution• Structure of consumption• Social organization• Social demand (basic infra-structure, health,

education)

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Specificities of BRICS

• Wide variation of production structures• heterogeneity of production systems• heterogeneity of demand

• Wide regional differences• The importance of

• history, culture• mode of insertion in globalization

• In the IS framework what is really important is the systemic character of production & innovation

• In the context of BRICS there is a need to analyze local innovation and production systems (LIPSs)

• RedeSist’s experience in analyzing LIPSs

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The Evolution of the Brazilian NIS

• The Brazilian NIS up to ISI

• The Brazilian NIS from the 1950s to the mid 1980s • Setting up of policies, agencies and infra-structure

• Successes in some sectoral innovation systems

• The Brazilian NIS from the late 1980s up to now• Changes in the policy regime

• Mixed results

• Downgrading of some innovation systems

• Improvements in some areas

• Challenges

• Brazil and the BRICS project• complexity of analysing NIS of Brics

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• Up to ISI• Sugar cane in colonial period• Universities only in the 20th Century• Specialization in coffee and sugar cane• Health (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation)

• From the 50s to the 70s – ISI transformed the BIS • 50s - CNPq, Petrobrás and Airspace (CTA)• 60s – Funtec – FNDCT and FINEP (funding

the infrastructure)• 70s – Embrapa, Energy, Telecom and IT• But reliance on foreign technology led to

mixed results

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From a S&T&I point of view the model was based on a:

1. Rapidly up-grading of the scientific infra-structure2. Massive (and disorganized) import of technology

(and capital): attracting foreign capital was supposed to be a quick and easier way to channel modern technology into the economy

Important successes:• EMBRAPA & agro-industrial technology• strategic sectors: infrastructure, air space, oil,

energy and telecomFrustrated attempts:• auto industry (Fábrica Nacional de Motores

created in the late 1950s)

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The Brazilian NIS in 1990s and early 2000s

1 – Crisis: development process subjected to an exchange-based economic system 3 – Structural changes (deregulation, privatization, internationalization)3 - Downgrading of some innovation systems: disorganized privatization of infrastructure (particularly telecom)4 – Some remarkable successes

agro-industrial systems (the role of EMBRAPA)aircraft system (EMBRAER)oil extraction and refining (Petrobrás)services: banking automation, voting system

5 – Evolution of infrastructure6 – Macro policy environment7 – Challenges: analytical and normative