As in the rest of the world, the tertiary sector is the one that grows the most in Brazil. Its presence in the national economy reflects that reality: between 1970 and 2005, the sector's share in the Economically Active Population, according to data supplied by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), rose from 38% to 58%.
As of 2005, the sector answered to 57% of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the developed countries, the segment answers to 70% of GDP on average.
Productive activities tend to migrate from the primary and secondary sectors (agriculture and industry, respectively) to trade and services, as life and the economy become more urban. This trend has been taking place since the 1970s. In recent years, the tertiary sector has been recording real growth rates higher or nearing those of industry.
These are some of the figures disclosed in the study "Competitiveness in the Trade, Service and Tourism Sectors in Brazil: Perspectives up to 2015," which maps out the segment in Brazil. Considered a beacon for the sector, the study, released October 21 in Brazilian capital Brasília, has 600 pages and five volumes.
The Executive Report summarizes the entire work and includes a CD with information regarding the other volumes. The Agenda of Proposals and Actions, which is part of the study, includes 138 proposals for improvement of competitiveness conditions for trade, service and tourism organisations.
Resulting from a partnership between the National Confederation of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), the study, which started in November 2006, broadly analyses the economic and structural conjectures, establishes policies and shows solutions to the main obstacles to growth of the sector. It also presents targets and indices for monitoring.
"The greatest objective of the study is to allow the tertiary sector itself, the society, the market and the government to learn about its possibilities and fragilities, so that a growth strategy may be planned, targeting the year of 2015," says Luiz Carlos Barboza, the technical director at the Sebrae.
"This sector may contribute with the development of Brazil due to all its potential, generating jobs and riches, directly or indirectly," stated Barboza.
In Barboza's evaluation, the study is equivalent in importance to what the Industrial Map represents to the industrial sector. "We hope that this work may have the same kind of trajectory as the industrial one did. The moment is very favorable to promotion and discussion of proposals, accompanied by implementation of the actions," he guarantees.
The work should be distributed to organizations that represent trade, services, tourism, markets, society, academia, the government and the three powers of the Republic. "There is homework for everybody. It is a public agenda, addressed to all economic, political and social players in the country, to be implemented in coming years aimed at eliminating the main bottlenecks that harm the development of the tertiary sector," he adds.
The 138 proposals and actions are divided into nine axes: structural reform (labour, tax and social security), infrastructure (land, aerial and water transport, electric energy, urban infrastructure, communications and safety), regulation and institutions (agencies for regulation, the Brazilian Competition Defense System, defense of the right to property and the Judiciary), social-economical aspects (education, digital inclusion, health and income policies), knowledge and innovation, access to market information, financing and payment methods, corporate management and governance and environment and sustainability.
The proposals and actions included in the study were collected in five meetings promoted in different regions of the country and which mobilized around 290 participants. Business leaders in the sector, formulators of public policies and agents in the public and private areas also collaborated with the work. Figures for several sectors collected from varied sources were used in the analysis and evaluation of the tertiary sector, like research by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
"The actions proposed are accompanied by quantitative and qualitative indices and associated targets. Thus, the control and evaluation of implementation of these activities will be possible, allowing for future course correction and measurement of the results," stated Antônio de Oliveira Santos, president of the CNC, in the text presenting the work.
According to figures disclosed by the Sebrae, the tertiary sector is the one that grows most in the world and also in Brazil. Its presence in the national economy reflects this reality: between 1970 and 2005, the rate of participation of the sector in the Working Population rose from 38% to 58%. In 2005, the sector answered to 57% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil.
In developed nations, the sector represents 70% of GDP on average. Productive activities tend to migrate from the primary and secondary sectors (agriculture and industry, respectively) to trade and services as life and the economy become more urban. This movement has been taking place in Brazil since the 1970s. In recent years, the tertiary sector has registered real growth above or close to that of industry.
Micro and small companies received special attention in development of the study about the tertiary sector, as they are the vast majority. In 2004, they corresponded to 99.66% of the number of trade companies in the country, and 98.89% of service companies. Policies for sector stimulation, in national and international terms were analyzed in the study.
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