Washington Luiz highways, centering on municipalities with significant productive and
university structures.10
The technological specialization indicator11 identifies the technological areas in which
each micro-region is strongest based on the International Patent Classification (IPC). A
specialization index higher than 1 in a given technological area means the region’s patenting
activity exceeds the average for that specific area. The specialization indices calculated for
micro-regions of Sao Paulo State are shown in Map 3, which highlights the main technological
domain in each micro-region.
The indicator for patenting in strategic technologies by micro-region was calculated in a
similar manner to the specialization index. Three technological domains were chosen for being
relatively knowledge-intensive and because they are standard components of public policy in the
areas of science, technology and innovation: information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals, and
machine tools.12
In IT and related technologies, the Campinas, Sorocaba and Osasco micro-regions stand
out as being strategically important. The Campinas micro-region accounted for about 20% of the
107 patents registered in this domain. Sao Paulo accounted for more than half in absolute terms,
yet did not show above-average activity in this domain. The same reservation regarding the Sao
Paulo micro-region applies to the other technological domains. In pharmaceuticals/cosmetics the
Campinas, Osasco, Itapecerica da Serra and Presidente Prudente micro-regions concurrently
displayed relative specialization as well as significance in absolute terms, with more than a third
of the 116 patents registered in the period. In machine tools the leading micro-regions are
Campinas, Ribeirao Preto, and Sao José do Rio Preto. With the reservation already mentioned,
the Sao Paulo micro-region accounted for 82 of the 136 patents registered in this domain. It is
noteworthy that the Campinas micro-region concurrently displayed specialized activity in all
three technological domains considered strategic.
Lastly, the USPTO patent database was used to produce an indicator of international
technological specialization. We identified 145 patents granted by USPTO between 1992 and
2001 to individuals and firms domiciled in Sao Paulo State. These patents were classified by
technological domain and micro-region as an indication of the level of international technological
specialization for each micro-region.
It was found that only 18 of the state’s 63 micro-regions had patents registered abroad,
especially in the technological domains of Housewares, Machinery, and Vehicles. Some of the
micro-regions that stand out in terms of international specialization in their respective
technological domains contain important innovative firms, as already mentioned. The Campinas
micro-region is outstanding for international patents in IT, and in this case its technological
dynamism is more extensive than can be represented by the fact that it contains one or several
innovative firms. It reflects strong regional specialization in this domain, given that the region
contains a large number of firms in the various segments of the production chain, alongside
institutions of education and research, and specialized research labs and centers.
10 It should be noted that a significant proportion of patent registrations in specific micro-regions reflects the
innovative dynamism of some firms in particular. A case in point is Marilia, where the strong emphasis on
transportation relates to patents registered by a single firm (Maquinas Agricolas Jacto).
11 The indicator used here is Revealed Technological Advantage (RTA), a standard feature in the literature relating to
patent-based indicators. For a brief history of the RTA as well as the formula and methodology for this indicator and
the corresponding variation coefficient, see Cantwell & Vertova (2004), and Vertova (2002).
12 An example taken from public policy in Brazil is the Government’s definition of “strategic options” in a key
document on industrial, technological and trade policy guidelines: Diretrizes de Politica Industrial, Tecnologica e de
Comércio Exterior (MDIC, 2003).