Neste artigo, analisamos as fontes das oscilações na demanda por trabalhadores, de acordo com seus respectivos níveis de escolaridade, com especial ênfase à indústria de transformação brasileira, entre 1994 e 2008. Consideramos duas teorias para explicar essas fontes: o teorema de Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O)e a hipótese do viés de habilidade. Na análise empírica utilizamos pioneiramente para o Brasil a análise de decomposição ao nível setorial e da firma para verificar qual das teorias refletiria melhor à realidade. Os resultados dão algum suporte à hipótese do viés de habilidade para os trabalhadores com ensino superior completo. Adicionalmente, os resultados apontam que as forças do comércio internacional destacadas pelo teorema de H-O têm relevância no caso da economia brasileira. Contudo, verificou-se que o aumento da oferta de trabalhadores com qualificação intermediária foi a principal causa do aumento da escolaridade da força de trabalho da indústria de transformação.

In this article, we analyze the causes of the swings in the demand for labor force associated with their level of schooling, with special emphasis on the Brazilian manufacturing industry, in the period 1994-2008. Two theories have been considered to explain the sources of these swings: the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem (H-O) and the ability bias hypothesis. In the empirical analysis, a sector level decomposition analysis was performed to verify which theory best fit the data. The empirical results give some support to the ability bias hypothesis when higher education labor force sample in used in the empirical analysis. Additionally, we found out that the international trade forces emphasized by the H-O Theorem are relevant in the Brazilian economy. However, we also found that the increase of intermediate level of education labor force supply was the main cause of schooling increase in the manufacturing industry labor force.

Structural changes and labor market in Brazil. In the present article, we attempt to identify the sources of the changes in the labor schooling level in the three main sectors of the Brazilian economy: manufacturing, services and agriculture. It was verified that, despite the changes in the product and employment among sectors, mainly in the 1990s, the relative demands for qualified workers has not experimented significant changes. Moreover, in the periods in which schooling has increased more, the workers' wage has decreased more. This fact suggests that the increase in labor qualification was mainly due to the increase of this factor supply. The structural changes had contributed, in general, in a marginal and negative way to labor force level of qualification demand in all the three sectors.