Uncertainty and industrial production in Brazil: A sectorial approach

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the effects of uncertainty on Brazilian industrial production. We estimate fixed effects panels considering 17 subsectors of manufacturing activity. Also, we calculate two types of proxies to uncertainty: (i) 17 subsectorial indexes and (ii) two aggregate indexes, in order to measure industrial uncertainty. The results showed that the different kinds of uncertainty negatively affect industrial production. Despite the fact that subsectorial uncertainty does not impact differently the types of goods (capital, intermediate, durable and nondurable goods), there is evidence that macroeconomic uncertainty has a distinct effect among them, being the capital goods production more negatively affected.

Keywords:
Uncertainty; Economic Activity; Industrial Production; Panel data