Brazilian aerospace manufacturing in comparative perspective: A Brazil/USA comparison of output and productivity
Daniel Vertesy & Adam Szirmai
#2010-032
A comparison of the performance of the Brazilian aerospace industry with
that of the world leader in aerospace production, the USA, requires
appropriate conversion rates. Following the methodology of the
International Comparisons of Output and Productivity project (ICOP), we
calculate unit value ratios for the aerospace industry based on
ex-factory prices. So far no comparisons have been made for this sector,
due to problems of disclosure in national statistics. In this paper, we
have made adjustments to official data from industrial surveys using
supplementary data on quantities and prices from a variety of other
sources. Our 2005 unit value ratios for the aerospace industry are
somewhat lower than updated UVRs from a previous ICOP study by Mulder et
al (2002) for the whole transport equipment branch, but the two
estimates are in the same range. Our results on comparative labour
productivity in aerospace point to more rapid catch up than in the
transport sector as a whole. There was a period between 1999 and 2003,
when the Brazilian aerospace industry clearly outperformed the United
States. However, Brazil was unable to sustain this dramatic sectoral
catch up. After 2003, firms disregarded the clear signals of shrinking
value added and continued to increase the number of employees. As a
result Brazil once again fell behind.
Keywords: aerospace manufacturing, labour productivity growth,
international comparison
JEL Codes: L62, O14, O15, O47
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872