The regional economic structure of Brazil in 1959: an overview based on an inter-State input-output system

This paper aims to describe the regional configuration of Brazil’s productive structure in 1959, a crucial moment in the Brazilian industrialization process, through the estimation of an interstate input-output matrix. The estimated matrix is the oldest of its kind for Brazil and is made available to other researchers. Hence, it can be an important tool for the study of the regional productive structure at a historical moment in which the regional question appeared as a central national issue. In this paper we describe estimation procedures and data sources, and present some general characterization of the regional structure of the economy in 1959 through selected structural indicators.