Abstract In a context of global production networks, cities are the loci of the knowledge generation process. They bring together various actors and assets necessary for this sophisticated activity. The generation of knowledge involves the interaction between actors within the same city, such as companies, universities, and research centers, and also between actors from different cities, forming a network. However, not all cities can participate in this network, and the literature has mostly focused on networks formed by cities in the Global North and in high-tech industries. This article aims to map and investigate the knowledge network in the offshore oil industry, showing whether cities in oil-rich countries in the Global South are part of this network. The analysis is carried out at the city level, highlighting the cities that appear as important places for generation of knowledge. To meet our goal, we created a patent database using patents granted by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) between 2007 and 2017, designed a network based on the inventors’ location, and performed the k-core analysis. We found that Rio de Janeiro is the only city in a Global South, resource-rich country that appears in the most central layers of the network. Rio de Janeiro’s insertion is based on two groups of actors that play different roles and are highly influenced by the local National Oil Company, Petrobras.

Resumo A economia global está organizada em cadeias de valor, fragmentadas espacial e funcionalmente. Apesar dessa dispersão, as atividades administrativas e de controle dessas cadeias continuam concentradas em algumas cidades, que detém um papel importante em certas cadeias, por concentrarem empresas e fluxos econômicos. A pesquisa nessa área não se concentrou no nível da cidade e adotou, mais comumente, estudos de caso como metodologia. Diante disso, este trabalho adotará a metodologia de rede para analisar o poder das cidades na rede de investimento em petróleo e gás da América do Sul, os atributos que explicam essa posição e a extensão espacial dela. Para realizar esta análise, serão usados dados sobre investimentos green e brownfield. Os resultados indicam que o Rio de Janeiro é a cidade mais central dessa rede, mas sua ação está concentrada principalmente no Brasil. Este trabalho pretende contribuir principalmente no desenvolvimento metodológico dos estudos na área.

Abstract The global economy is organized in value chains, spatially and functionally fragmented. Despite this dispersion, the administrative activities of these chains continue to be concentrated in some cities, which play an important role in certain chains, because they concentrate companies and economic flows. The research on value chains has not focused on the city level and has adopted mainly case studies as the methodological approach. Considering this, we apply a network methodology to analyse the powerful cities in the South American oil and gas investment network, including the attributes that explain this position and the spatial extent of it. To perform this analysis, we use data on green and brownfield investments. Our results indicate that Rio de Janeiro is the most central city in this network, but its action is mainly concentrated in Brazil. This work seeks to contribute mainly to the methodological development of the studies in the area.

RESUMO Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as mudanças recentes nas relações econômicas entre os países da América Latina e a China, à luz das transformações ocorridas na estratégia de desenvolvimento chinesa no período pós-crise financeira global. Argumenta-se que, em relação à primeira década do século XXI, as relações atreladas aos investimentos diretos, aos fluxos de financiamento e aos projetos de infraestrutura vêm ganhando maior importância e lançam novos desafios para região, além daquelas baseadas apenas nos fluxos comerciais.

ABSTRACT This paper aims to analyze the recent changes in economic relations between Latin American countries and China in the context of the transformations occurred in the latter’s development strategy after the global financial crisis. The text argues that, in relation to the first decade of the twenty-first century, connections linked to FDI, financing flows, and infrastructure projects have been growing in importance and present new challenges to Latin America, which surpass the ones based only on trade flows.

O artigo procura avaliar qual o impacto dos programas públicos de financiamento às exportações existentes no Brasil. Especificamente o artigo analisa os resultados do PROEX e do BNDES-EXIM. Para cumprir o objetivo o trabalho utiliza a metodologia de propensity score matching combinada com análise de painel. Os resultados apontam que os programas públicos brasileiros, em especial o BNDES-EXIM, tem impacto positivo sobre o valor exportado das firmas apoiadas.

The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of public programs of exports financing in Brazil. Specifically, the paper analyses the results of PROEX and BNDES-EXIM. To achieve that objective, a propensity score matching, combined with panel data analysis was used. The results show that Brazilian government programs to finance exports, specially the BNDES-EXIM has a positive impact on the export value of supported firms.