Comportamento do desemprego regional no Brasil: Uma aplicação de teste de convergência em painel

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the behavior of regional unemployment rates in Brazil. In particular, it attempted to identify the existence of a process of convergence, and to check whether it is characterized as conditional or unconditional. The main innovation is to extend this type of analysis for the 27 Federal Units. Using panel unitroot tests, we can strongly reject the unit-root hypothesis, suggesting that shocks to regional unemployment rates have transitory effects and the convergence is characterized as conditional, which explains the existence of stable differences among regional unemployment rates. The evidences align with the equilibrium approach or compensatory theory, which explains the phenomenon based on individuals’ preference for certain areas.