ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE DETERMINANTS OF THE WEST OF PARANÁ AND SANTA CATARINA STATES MESOREGIONS BETWEEN 1970 AND 2000

Abstract

This article investigates the determinants of economic performance of the mesoregions Oeste Catarinense and Oeste Paranaense in the period of 1970 to 2000, analyzing the distribution of the mesoregions’ economic activities and specializations. These two mesoregions hold similarities in their agrarian and competitive structures, as well as in their standards of labor organization in the 1970s. In addition, both mesoregions showed a highly superior economical performance to that presented by the South of Brazil in the analyzed period. The study employed the Shift-Share methodology. The results showed that the productive options (specializations) of each mesoregion explain their differentiated performance in the period. Hence, in the period of 1970 to 2000, both mesoregions diversified and integrated the three macro-sectors, what reflected on better economic conditions in comparison with other mesoregions and with the South of Brazil.