Economias externas e macroacessibilidade como ferramentas para a localização de um cluster: aplicação ao estado de Goiás

Abstract

Over the past decades, the number of business agglomerations has increased across different regions of Brazil. The economic approach to such industrial concentrations originates from Perroux’s growth pole theory. From this concept emerged the notion of development poles, which constitutes the primary focus of the present study. In this context, a particular type of agglomeration, referred to as a logistics cluster, is presented and considered in this research as a detailed example of a development pole. One of the approaches commonly employed to measure the impact of productive agglomerations is the identification of external economies, a concept originally formulated by the economist Alfred Marshall in his analysis of industrial districts. Accordingly, numerous studies have sought quantitative metrics and methods—an analytical approach that gained prominence with the New Economic Geography—to verify the existence of these characteristics. Building upon this theoretical framework, the present study combines economic theory with statistical methods to investigate the presence of external economies. The central hypothesis assumes that a logistics cluster can only be established in a given region if external economies are present both in a specific leading sector and in the transportation sector, given the strategic importance of transportation and logistics within the proposed type of development pole. Furthermore, the study seeks to provide a comprehensive perspective on development poles by considering not only the upper circuit of the economy but also the lower circuit, in accordance with the concepts proposed by Milton Santos. To this end, the concept of Macroaccessibility is incorporated into the study's methodology. Macroaccessibility indicators are subsequently applied to the region where the identified external economies are observed. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to identify potential locations for a logistics cluster through the identification of external economies and the application of Macroaccessibility indicators. Achieving this objective requires the identification of external economies across the planning regions of the State of Goiás. As a case study, the methodology was applied to the Região Metropolitana de Goiânia (RMG) in order to demonstrate the procedure to be subsequently implemented in the remaining nine planning regions of the state. Since the hypotheses regarding the existence of external economies were confirmed, Macroaccessibility indicators were then applied to the municipalities within the study area to identify those exhibiting the highest levels of macroaccessibility, with the aim of promoting a more balanced territorial distribution of economic activities within the RMG. The findings indicate the potential for establishing a logistics cluster in the Goiânia Metropolitan Region, as external economies were identified, including within the transportation sector. The proposed cluster would be oriented toward the agribusiness sector, which presented the most robust results in the econometric model. Moreover, the Macroaccessibility analysis identified the municipality of Trindade as the most suitable location for the logistics cluster. These findings demonstrate the potential of the proposed analytical framework, as its application to a single region has already shown the feasibility of this type of productive agglomeration. Extending the methodology to all ten planning regions of the state in order to determine which presents the strongest econometric evidence of external economies would provide a highly valuable contribution. Consequently, the present study proposes a methodological procedure that may serve as a foundation for more detailed future research.