Technological Catch-up and Indigenous Institutional Infrastructures in Latecomer Natural Resource-related Industries: An Exploration of the Role of EMBRAPA in Brazil’s Soybean and Forestry-based Pulp and Paper Industries

Paulo Figueiredo

Global Development Institute Working Paper Series from GDI, The University of Manchester

Abstract: This article reports the results of an exploratory study of the role of indigenous institutional infrastructures in the accumulation of world-leading innovative capabilities (technological catch-up) in natural resource-related industries in the context of developing/emerging economies. These issues are examined from the perspective of the Brazilian Corporation for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) and Brazil’s soybean and forestry-based pulp and paper industries. The article suggests that: (1) EMBRAPA has been providing, in different ways, an effective contribution to the technological catch-up and international competitiveness of these two industries over the past decades; (2) one important aspect of EMBRAPA’s effectiveness has been the orientation of its research towards specific local needs and demands; (3) however, the innovative process led by EMBRAPA is far from linear, being instead based on systemic interactions with diverse components of the indigenous institutional infrastructure and industry partners; (4) in the case of the soybean industry, there is a growing need for EMBRAPA to work on the basis of networked partnerships, especially with subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs); (5) innovative activities that have had a significant impact on productivity growth do not necessarily reflect only research and development efforts, but also effective creative imitation efforts; (6) negative and pessimistic views of the contribution of natural resource-related industries to industrial development can be challenged by demonstrating the benefits that can be achieved through efforts towards consistent innovative activities in these industries. The possibility of African developing/emerging economies emulating Brazil’s success with innovation and competitiveness in the soybean and forestry-based industries will depend on the manner in which industry-level technological capabilities are developed through systemic institutional infrastructures.

Date: 2014
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