The role of technological learning in the exports of manufactured goods: the case of selected capital goods in Brazil

The object of this study is to explain the evolution of Brazilian capital-goods exports in terms of technological learning within the sector and government policy, but emphasizing the former. The study identifies relevant learning processes for eventual introduction into export-behaviour equations or as a basis for theoretical models. It starts from a series of eight microeconomic case studies of technologically sophisticated firms in Brazil. Among the specific issues addressed in the case studies are: (1) the nature of technological learning: are there recognizable sequences? Does it generally lead to products of increased technological complexity? (2) how (if at all) technological learning has benefited exports; (3) other endogenous firm spin-offs, principally from reputation effects, which were important for increased efficiency and for the emergence of exports; (4) the economic value of the firm's accumulated experience, and the factors determining it.