Estado e desenvolvimento: a indústria de semicondutores no Brasil

Abstract

The semiconductor industry is one of the most dynamic and relevant sectors of the global economy. Because of its strategic status, the Brazilian government has encouraged the revival of the sector since the early 2000s through various policies. As a result, today there are early-stage initiatives of a semiconductor industry in Brazil: more than 40 institutions operating in all stages of the value chain and in various product segments. This dissertation seeks to describe and analyze the semiconductor industry in Brazil and the public policies in order to investigate the role of the State in the development of this industry. Special attention is given to three initiatives of front-end fabrication. To achieve its objectives, this work starts by reviewing the Brazilian and international literature on developmentalism. This discussion about the state’s role in promoting development seeks to highlight the gaps in the Brazilian debate on the issue and identify possible courses of action. It also analyzes the specific literature on the semiconductor industry to both expose the most relevant facts about the organization of this sector in the world, and to analyze the existing diagnosis of the sector in Brazil. Going beyond the literature, however, this study also examines a number of primary sources. On the one hand, several official documents are analyzed in order to gather information on public policy and other state actions. On the other hand, this work promotes a field survey through questionnaires with semiconductor companies identified in Brazil and interviews with authorities from the sector. Finally, the work also uses reports in the national and international press. The main conclusions of this work relate to: (i) the way the policy for the semiconductor industry was constructed in Brazil – it was the intermediate and stable bureaucracy of the Federal Government that defended the interests of this sector and acted on its behalf –; and (ii) the direct and committed assistance from the state, which is essential for the enterprises in the front-end stage of the fabrication of complex semiconductor components to become true. Although many results have already appeared, the success of this effort depends on this policy being continued and updated. Therefore, it is necessary that the semiconductor industry is continuously considered strategic and priority, i.e. to recover the prominent position it experienced in the past.