UMA ANÁLISE DO BAIXO GRAU DE INOVAÇÃO NA INDÚSTRIA BRASILEIRA A PARTIR DO ESTUDO DAS FIRMAS MENOS INOVADORAS

This paper analyses the patterns of technological activities found in 53,102 Brazilian industrial firms that do not differentiate products and have lower productivity, a set which encompasses 78.5% of the total number of Brazilian industrial firms (foreign capital firms and firms dedicated to extractive activities were not considered). The revenue of firms that innovate is twice as large as those that do not. The size of the firm is an obstacle to innovation. Also, the innovation is predominantly "process innovation". Even among the firms that introduce innovations in products, the innovation is many times due to the acquisition of machines with different capacities than the pre existent ones. The absolute expenditure in R&D is very low and almost always discontinuous. In this context, industrial extensionism is the best policy to support product innovation. Policy support to the innovation process is also beneficial, as it swims with the tide, besides it induce product innovation. Thus, the development of the capital good sector has a fundamental impact on the expansion of innovative behavior in Brazil. In any case, a larger credit availability and lower interest rates would be useful policies.