Estimates of the Degree of Openness for the State of Espírito Santo

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to measure the degree of openness for the state of Espírito Santo. In doing so, we make use of recently available estimates of nominal GDP for the state, covering the 2004:01/2009:02 period (quarterly data). The results obtained show that, over this sample period, four empirical patterns can be identified: (i) the degree of openness estimated for the state is around 49%; (ii) exports have a larger share in the state’s international trade than imports; (iii) the state’s economy is about two times more open than the country’s; (iv) there has been a rising degree of openness both for the state and the country, with such a rise being considerably larger for the state than for the country. These findings are important in the sense that they can help understanding the state’s situation in terms of its international trade as well as helping designing policies related to long-run growth. Key words: international economics; degree of openness; Espírito Santo. Artigo recebido em 10 nov. 2009.