Regional distribution and economic activity of the Brazilian software industry: A study for the period 2007/2016

Abstract

Software development represents a growing activity in several emergent or developed economy countries. This study presents the economic trajectory of software development companies and the changes in the geographical distribution of these companies, which occurred in the period from 2007 to 2016 in Brazil. With a documentary research that compared information obtained from governmental and non-governmental organizations, it was possible to accomplish a sectorial analysis of the Brazilian software industry within the period. Starting from the development of this industry in the 1990s, it was observed the continuous growth until 2014, followed by a decline in the growth rate between 2015 and 2016. It is observed a concentration of activity mainly in the Southeast region states, the industry growth in all regions of Brazil, and the increase of the economic share of the South and Northeast regions.