Abstract
During the 2000s and 2010s, the growth in sugar and ethanol production stimulated the expansion of sugarcane in new regions of Brazil, reducing the concentration in the state of São Paulo. This paper aims to investigate whether the rise in sugarcane production in peripheral areas has led to the growth of knowledge capabilities. In order to consider regional asymmetries, the article uses the differentiated knowledge base (DKB) approach in association with regional innovation systems (RIS) and core-periphery relations. Data on formal employment and scientific research on the Central-South region are analyzed from 2003 to 2017. The results show that there are limits to the diffusion of sugarcane knowledge as an important part of knowledge production remains concentrated in the regions of early growth in São Paulo.
Highlights
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugar boasting 20% of global production in the 2017/2018 harvest (USDA, 2020); and the second largest producer of bioethanol, holding 28% of the world’s production in 2015 (IEA, 2020)
Given the role of the country as the main producer of sugar and sugarcane worldwide, as well as the relevance of knowledge and learning capability as drivers of growth and development, this paper analyzes whether the rise in sugarcane production in peripheral areas leads to the growth of knowledge capabilities
The theoretical framework proposed in the paper is the differentiated knowledge base (DKB) approach in association with regional innovation systems (RIS) and core-periphery relations, so as to consider regional heterogeneity in the analysis
Summary
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugar boasting 20% of global production in the 2017/2018 harvest (USDA, 2020); and the second largest producer of bioethanol, holding 28% of the world’s production in 2015 (IEA, 2020). In the 2017/2018 harvest, the Central-South held 93% of sugarcane, 93% of sugar, and 94% of bioethanol production in Brazil (UNICADATA, 2020). Since the 2000s São Paulo’s share in the Central-South region in terms of ethanol and sugar production has fallen. While in the 2000/2001 harvest São Paulo represented 70% of ethanol production, 77% of sugar, and 72% of sugarcane, in the 2017/2018 harvest, these values fell to 51%, 68%, and 60%, respectively (UNICADATA, 2020). In this context, the boom in bioethanol production during the 2000s induced the movement of the sugarcane frontier towards Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Paraná
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